Marines get bail, cant leave Kochi

KOCHI: Ending their 102-day-long custody, the Italian marines, arrested by the Kerala police after they shot dead two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, were released on bail by the Kerala High Court on Wednesday. The duo was granted bail with stringent conditions which include a bond of `1 crore each.Granting bail to the marines — chief  sergeant Massimiliano Latorre and sergeant Salvatore Girone — Justice N K Balakrishnan said the decision was taken considering the period of detention already undergone by them. The court directed the police to inform the seaport and other authorities to prevent the accused from leaving India.The HC directed the marines to execute a bond of  Rs 1 crore each with two solvent Indian sureties each for the same amount to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kollam. “If there is any doubt about the genuineness of the tax receipts produced by the sureties, the magistrate can insist on production of the original title deeds of the sureties or such other documents to prove their surety,” the court held and added that the sureties also should not leave the state without the court’s permission. The magistrate should ensure the identity of the sureties by insisting on production of electoral photo identity cards, the HC pointed out. The marines have been directed to surrender their passports before the CJM Court, Kollam. The marines shall appear before the Kochi City Police Commissioner every day between 10 am and 11 am until further orders.“After release from jail, they shall stay in a building within a distance of 10 km  from the office of the Police Commissioner. The particulars of the building where the marines intend to stay shall be intimated to the police. They shall not leave the limits of the City Police Commissioner, Kochi,” it said. The court further said that the petitioner shall be available as and when required by the Police Commissioner. Also they were asked to furnish their mobile numbers. The court also made it clear that the petitioners shall be released from jail only on production of the valid travel documents/visa having been endorsed on the passports by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or the Foreigners Registration Officer.