Thane: The Thane session court has granted bail to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and former housing minister Jitendra Awhad in the alleged molestation case on Tuesday.
The decision was pronounced by Judge Pranay Gupta after completing the hearing at 3 p.m.
The NCP party workers expressed happiness as soon as the court granted the bail.
Previously, Rida Rashid, a female BJP office bearer, filed a molestation case alleging Awhad shoved her aside while she was trying to meet CM Eknath Shinde after an event in Thane.
On Sunday, November 13, at the inauguration of the Kalwa Khadi bridge, Awhad was moving forward as a crowd gathered around Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's vehicle, and the NCP leader shoved aside the BJP women office bearers who were trying to see Shinde.
Jitendra Awhad had no intention of touching the complainant
Jitendra Awhad's lawyer, Gajanan Chavan, presented the video of the incident in court and said, "Jitendra Awhad had no intention of touching the complainant." "When the complainant, a BJP party bearer, came near Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's car, Awhad made the woman step aside due to the crowd."
The lawyer further argued that asking someone to be to the side while touching her due to a crowd cannot be a crime of molestation.
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor, Varsha Chandane, objected that there was no political vendetta behind this move because the complainant filed a case at the Mumbra police station immediately after the incident.
The accused has recommitted a serious crime
Challenging the plea, Chandane claimed that the accused had also violated the condition of not committing a serious crime in accordance with the notice issued in the Vartaknagar case on November 12.
In the video that was presented, it is clearly mentioned that the accused had touched the complainant. There is also the possibility of putting pressure on the investigation because the accused is an MLA.
After hearing from both sides, Thane Sessions Court Judge Pranay Gupta granted anticipatory bail to Jitendra Awhad on the grounds that he will cooperate with the probe and will not try to interfere with the investigation.
