A Sessions court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of a 28-year-old, who was part of a gang that impersonated officers from the crime branch to waylay a businessman, kidnap and rob him of around Rs 16 lakh last year.
Mahim Police had registered offences against the applicant, Anil More, for impersonating a public servant, kidnapping and extortion, among others. In his bail plea, he sought parity, as two of his co-accused had been granted bail.
More, part of a gang of seven, was in the car that had intercepted complainant Harshal Manjrekar’s vehicle and identifying themselves as crime branch officials, got into his car and told him to drive towards Panvel. They initially demanded Rs 5 crore as ransom from him, then came down to Rs 2 crore and then to Rs. 90 lakh, threatening that they would kill him if he did not pay.
As per Manjrekar’s complaint, the men took Rs 2 lakh from the dashboard of his car, made his driver alight from the vehicle and get money from Manjrekar’s home. At his home, his sister-in-law gave Rs 10 lakh to his driver. The men also took away four of his gold rings and his mobile handset, their loot totalling Rs. 16.15 lakh.
Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Nayyar opposed the grant of bail, arguing that More was in the car that had waylaid the victim, who had identified him in the identification parade.
Rejecting his bail plea, Additional Sessions Judge BV Wagh noted that a survey of the chargesheet showed More’s complicity, being one of the miscreants who played an active role in the robbery. “The mobile seized from the applicant and its CDR shows that he was in contact with the other miscreants,” he stated in his order.
Further, the court noted that parity could not be applied to him as the role attributed to him could not be said to be on par with the Co-accused. While denying him bail, the court considered the serious nature of the crime, the identification of the applicant during the test identification parade and his active role in holding the informant captive and demanding ransom.
