A human rights officer with People's Watch, Gopen Sharma who is facing up to ten years imprisonment was denied an application for bail on 26 February 2007. This rejection followed a series of failed attempts to hold a bail hearing.
The Prosecutor did not submit any evidence or documentation to back the accusations and during the hearing of the bail application the public prosecutor admitted that the statements recorded against Gopen Sharma all related to a case, which was heard 3 years ago. Despite this the judge rejected the application for bail. Gopen Sharma has already been detained for 20 days since his arrest on 8 February 2007.
People’s Watch is a National Project on Prevention of Torture in India and based in the Murshidabad District of West Bengal. Prior to his arrest, Gopen Sharma was involved in a human rights verification mission researching human rights violations perpetrated by police officers against local villagers. The mission collected testimonies from victims and submitted petitions and complaints concerning human rights violations to various government authorities. 
