New Delhi: A city court on Saturday granted bail to a man accused in a 2004 murder of two men who were reportedly in a homosexual relationship. "Rajesh Santram is suffering from HIV as well as tuberculosis and he appeared to be quite ill. His bail is granted for an interim period of two months," Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar said.

Santram, arrested on Aug 28, 2004, will have to furnish a personal and a surety bond of Rs.15,000 each. In his bail application, Santram said his proper treatment was not possible in the jail as he was required to have a clean and healthy environment.

The accused had also filed an application to recall four prosecution witnesses including a doctor for cross-examination in the case. The court fixed July 17 for considering the application moved under Section 311 (court's power to recall witness) of the Criminal Procedure Act (CrPC).

The court had on April 2 completed recording of statements of the accused in the case of double murder at a south Delhi home of one of the victims, Pushkin Chandra, a UN Development Programme (UNDP) employee and son of retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anil Chandra.

Chandra and his friend Kuldeep Singh were killed on Aug 14, 2004 at Pushkin Chandra's Anand Lok apartment. Police had arrested Santram and Moti, who allegedly confessed to have killed Chandra due to his habit of engaging in "homosexual acts and blackmail".

Source : IANS