Ahmedabad: A local court in Dahod district today (April 27, 2004) deferred to May 1 the hearing on the bail application of 14 people accused in the sensational Bilkis Banu alleged gangrape case of the post-Godhra communal riots in which 14 people were killed on March 3, 2002.

The bail hearing of the 14 accused, that includes a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker and an advocate among others, was deferred as the CBI could not submit all the required documents before the court.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 19 filed a detailed chargesheet in the case against 20 people in which it named six policemen including two deputy superintendents of police and two doctors as accused persons who "suppressed evidence or attempted to destroy it".

Defence advocate Arvind Pandya said the bail hearing was deferred today as the CBI "failed" to produce documents sought by the court including the case papers of the investigation conducted by the Limkheda taluka police.

A local court in Ahmedabad recently also issued non-bailable warrants (NBW) against the two doctors after they failed to appear and sought their presence before the court on April 30.

The CBI opened a Pandora's box of alleged complicities, conducted by several Gujarat Police officials and Government servants while it investigated the matter, while probing the case under Supreme court's directives in December last year.