Mumbai: The special NIA court has refused to grant bail to auto driver, Shakil Shaikh alias Shaikh Chotu booked in connection with the murder of Amravati pharmacist Umesh Kolhe. The court has held that he was part of the conspiracy.
Kolhe, who ran a medical store in Amravati, was on his way home on his scooter on the night of June 21, 2022, when he was accosted by three men on a bike and hacked to death. He was allegedly killed for sharing social media posts backing suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Shaikh was one of the accused arrested by NIA in connection with the murder.
Judge Says Each Link In The Conspiracy Chain Equally Responsible
The special NIA judge Chakor Baviskar while refusing to grant bail to Shaikh has said that, “In this case, the goal of the chain that is criminal conspiracy of the accused was to hold the death of Umesh Kolhe up high to spread the fierce dark of terror in the society. And they horrendously succeeded in that. So, each link must be held equally strong and responsible for the offences alleged.”
“If the actual executor of the criminal conspiracy is the last link to hold the chandelier and if the motivator/perpetrator is the roof hook anchor, then all the links of the chain in between have to be equally strong enough to hold the entire weight, because, it is often said and rightly too, that any chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” the special court said, holding that even if the accused played a small role, he was part of the conspiracy.
Defence Argues False Implication And Lack Of Evidence
Shaikh had claimed that he had been falsely implicated and had not committed any crime as claimed by the prosecution. The defence had claimed that the social media post was published only on June 14, 2022 and the alleged conspiracy meeting is said to have taken place on June 9, 2022. It was claimed that he had attended the said meeting just like many others and that too, in presence of police.
The defence had further said that, being an auto rickshaw driver, he does have contacts with numerous persons in the vicinity as a professional driver. This acquaintance is wrongly taken by the prosecution as a part of conspiracy.
Prosecution Claims Strong Evidence Against Shaikh
The prosecution however had claimed that, as per the statements of the witnesses, Shaikh was present in the further meeting held on June 20, 2022 along with other accused to plan further action after failure of the first attempt to murder Kolhe.
It is further alleged that Shakil was in constant touch with the Recce Party and was part of the conspiracy in lifting, dropping and sheltering post murder. He was well aware of the conspiracy of murder of Kolhe. He voluntarily assisted in the crime, the prosecution had alleged.
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Court Finds Prima Facie Evidence, Rejects Bail Plea
The court accepted the prima facie allegations against Shaikh and said that “there is ample and strong prima facie evidence to hold that the accusations against this accused are true.”
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