A sessions court has rejected the bail plea of a man booked for being part of a group that tried to set fire to a hotel in Dongri after the it had denied a room to them the previous day as their identity cards showed they were locals.
The man Mohd. Azim Khan was arrested for the crime while he was on bail through the High Court in a case in which he was serving life imprisonment as the decision on his appeal was pending. His bail plea before the sessions court claimed that he was falsely implicated in the present case based on suspicion and had been recently admitted to hospital as he suffered heart ailment and may get infected by coronavirus if lodged in the jail.
The JJ Marg police station had opposed his bail plea telling the court that the accused had five crimes registered against him, the investigation is in progress in the present crime and co-accused yet to be arrested. If he is let out on bail, he may hamper the investigation, the prosecution told the court.
As per the police complaint made by the hotel’s manager, the man had come with two men a day earlier for a room. At the time, the owner of the hotel was at the counter. He had asked them to show their identity cards. They had left and returned with identity cards which showed they were locals. Hence the owner had denied a room to them. Furious, they had hurled abuses and assaulted him. The owner had made a NC against them. The following day, the owner was not at the hotel and the manager was in-charge. He had seen three men come towards the hotel’s gate and hurl an explosive in through the hotel’s door along with an ignited matchstick. The door of the hotel had caught fire. The fire was brought under control by him and the hotel staff using the fire extinguisher. The fire brigade vehicle had also arrived.
Additional Sessions Judge PP Rajvaidya observed in his order that Khan was convicted in a case of dacoity with murder and was released by an order of the HC in November last year pending decision on his appeal. Regarding his medical condition, the court said that he is discharged now from hospital and is now normal.
The court found value in the prosecution’s apprehension that he may hamper investigation if released on bail and noted that the investigation is in progress and co-accused yet to be arrested.Judge Rajvaidya rejected his bail plea, while also considering the nature of allegations against him.
