Maharashtra : Bombay High Court grants bail to the accused in the case of brutal murder in the market, questions raised on the statements of witnesses
The Bombay High Court granted bail to an accused in a case of brutal murder of a man in a market place. The Court examined the statements against him closely and observed that there was some solid and credible evidence to prove the guilt of the accused. Along with this, the court also raised questions on the statements of the witnesses recorded by the Mumbai Police.
The court granted bail to an accused named Rajesh Yadav, who was shown by the police as a conspirator. This case of murder was registered by a witness named social worker Nitin Gupta. Gupta had gone to meet a person named Suresh alias Surya at a hotel next to Rumania Hotel on Link Road in Goregaon. Surya was sitting with Rajesh Yadav when Gupta reached there with another friend Sharif. They discussed for 15 to 20 minutes. They exchanged their mobile numbers, drank tea and after that around 3 pm they all went out.
According to Nitin Gupta, when he was smoking in a kiosk adjacent to the hotel, he saw Yadav start his scooter when suddenly a man wearing a red shirt and cap hit Suresh with a hammer, causing him to fall. Gone. Similarly, two other people attacked him in the chest with a knife etc. Sharif tried to save Suresh, but he was threatened not to intervene. He was very scared and withdrew. Gupta called the police, though the attackers fled in no time. Yadav had also fled on his scooty and switched off his phone.
Murder conspiracies are not hatched in the open: Court
Advocate Prashant Pandey, appearing for Yadav, moved the court through the statements of two witnesses who said that Yadav was seen with the co-accused and they heard him talking about eliminating Suresh. It was because he was getting famous and gaining weight in the field. During the hearing in the case, Justice Bharati Dangre observed, “It is very difficult to establish the evidence of criminal conspiracy as the conspiracies are generally hatched in a secret manner in the dark of night, but here there are two witnesses, who eliminate the deceased during the day.” i.e. 15 days ago or a month he was openly conspiring in the market to eliminate the deceased along with the co-accused.
The court granted bail to the accused
Justice Dangre said the witnesses failed to establish the veracity of their statement and when the prosecution is successful in establishing its charge under Section 120B of the IPC, Yadav can be convicted. The prosecution had raised the issue of Yadav’s escape from the spot, but the judge said this circumstance was not sufficient to prove that the accused was guilty. There could be many reasons as to why he left the spot. The court also observed that earlier the prosecution said that they had CCTV footage of the incident, but later said they did not.
The prosecution had said that Yadav had bought the hammer from a shop and the shopkeeper recognized him. Although the court said that in view of the material compiled in the charge sheet, it was not sufficient to keep the accused in continuous custody in this case, the charge sheet was filed on completion of the investigation. Therefore the accused deserves his liberty.
