Published On : Wed, Aug 3rd, 2016

MCOCA Court grants bail to Sunil Bhatia, Mangesh Shende in Ajay Raut kidnapping, extortion case

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Nagpur:
The Special MCOCA Court Judge Salman Azmi on Wednesday granted bail to Sunil Bhatia and Mangesh Shende, both accused in cricket bookie Ajay Raut kidnapping and extortion case. Gangster Raju Bhadre, Divakar Kottulwar and their accomplices have also been slapped with MCOCA in the Ajya Raut abduction and extortion case.

Ajay Raut was kidnapped on December 11, 2015 night and Raju Bhadre, on the pretext of helping him, had enacted a drama of giving ransom of Rs 1 crore. After receiving the ransom amount, Raut was released. However, the Crime Branch sleuths, after receiving complaint from Ajay Raut, had seized Rs 1.50 crore during the course of investigation. Subsequently, Bhatia was arrested in March.

Adv P k Satyanathan, representing Bhatia, argued that Bhatia has no connection with the case and the evidences submitted by police are not substantial. Bhatia had met Raju Bhadre and Kottulwar only once in November 2015. It does not prove hand of Bhatia in the case in any way. His client was earlier also booked but the offences were of 10 years back. Hence action against Bhatia under MCOCA is also totally wrong, the lawyer said.

Adv R K Tiwari and Adv Nitin Wase, appearing on behalf of Mangesh Shende, told the court that it has been alleged that some amount of ransom money was recovered from him. But the money did not belong to the extortion amount. In fact, the money belonged to his father. The Government Pleader Vijay Kolhe put up the side of the State.

The Special MCOCA Judge Salman Azmi, after hearing both the sides, granted bail to both the accused – Sunil Bhatia and Mangesh Shende – on the condition of furnishing of personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each.