Mumbai: A special court designated under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has rejected the bail plea of an aide of former gangster Ashvin Naik in an extortion case of a builder.
Pramod Keluskar had sought bail on the grounds that he has heart ailments and no proper medical facility is available in jail. He also told the court that his co-morbidity makes him susceptible to the Coronavirus infection.
Special Public Prosecutor Iqbal Solkar opposed the bail plea stating that no medical documents have been provided regarding the ailment.
The court while recording its reasons for rejecting the bail plea, said that the report of the jail authority regarding the health of the applicant was called for, which concludes that he is fit, thus that he has not proved his co-morbidity to claim release in view of the pandemic.
Special judge under the MCOCA Act Rahul Bhosale also noted that the High Power Committee for decongesting prisons also prohibits grant of temporary bail to undertrial prisoners booked under the MCOCA, thus making him a prohibited category of prisoners to claim interim bail due to comorbidity.
“The CDRs on record disclose the consistent communication amongst the present accused at the relevant time of the crime,” the court noted.
Citing other offences of extortion in which Keluskar has been chargesheeted in the past, the court observed that his successive involvement in committing serious and cognizable offences reveals the probability about his involvement while on bail.
The court said that the material at this stage in the chargesheet reveals his prima facie involvement in the crime. The offences are non-bailable and attract a maximum punishment of death or life imprisonment, hence it said that Keluskar is not eligible for bail.
Gangster Ashvin Naik and his aides had been threatening three builders, partners in a firm, for Rs 50 lakh and a 6,000 sq.ft space in their construction project in Dadar, or they wouldn't allow them to start their work. The partners had already parted with Rs 25 lakh over a period. The informant was being threatened for Rs 50 lakh, when he informed the police, a trap was laid and the gang including Ashvin Naik nabbed.
