Kolkata, Jan 15 (IANS): The Calcutta High Court on Monday granted bail to the prime accused in the case relating to indiscriminate firing at Netai in West Bengal's Jhargram district on January 7, 2011, leaving nine people dead.

CPI-M leader Rathin Dandapate, from whose residence the alleged firing took place, finally got the bail after languishing behind the bars for 10 years,

Granting bail, the division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen observed that since all the related documents in the case have been seized and there had been significant progress in the process of testimony, there is no reason to deny the bail petition.

Earlier, Dandapate had made several pleas for bail petitions but they were all rejected.

Earlier, the other two accused in the case, Gandiban Roy and Pintu Roy, had been released on bail. As many as nine people were killed and 28 others were injured in the firing on January 7, 2011 allegedly from Dandapate’s residence at Netai, an erstwhile stronghold area of left -ing extremists.

It was alleged the CPI-M had been running an armed camp from Dandapate’s residence.

The Netai incident is often termed as the last nail on the coffin of the 34-year long Left Front rule in West Bengal. In the state Assembly elections in the same year, the Trinamool Congress came to power and the regime of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee started.

A total of 20 local CPI-M leaders were arrested then in the incident.