Patna, Sept. 2: Patna High Court today dismissed the bail petition filed by Rupam Pathak, the prime accused in the murder of Purnea legislator Rajkishore Keshari, and directed the CBI to wrap up the investigations within six months.

A bench of Justice Hemant Kumar Srivastava rejected Rupam’s bail plea, saying there has been direct and serious allegations of stabbing to death against Rupam.

During the hearing, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the investigating agency in the case, gave an undertaking to the court that it would complete the trial within six months in the case.

Taking CBI’s undertaking into account, the court rejected the bail plea with a direction that Rupam would have liberty to move for bail in the trial court itself if the CBI fails to conclude the proceedings within six months.

The order assumes significance, as Rupam will have to wait for another six months to get out of the jail on bail. She is presently lodged in Patna’s Beur Central Jail, where an inmate assaulted her on August 27 over a trivial issue. Later, a compromise was reached between the two inmates.

Rupam approached the high court after the lower court rejected her application for regular bail in April this year. The case in the high court was adjourned several times on various grounds. The court directed the CBI to produce the diary of the case in June but when it was produced, the post-mortem report was not annexed with it and hence, the court again directed the CBI to present the post-mortem report on August 26.

Citing the agency’s conclusion report, Rupam’s counsel Dinesh Kumar submitted that she was forced to take the extreme step, fearing that she would not get justice in her sexual exploitation case.

Kumar pointed out the inconsistency in the FIR and seizure list. While the FIR says that Rupam used a dagger, the seizure list talks about the knife.