Delhi-based advocate Shailendrasinh Jat, who was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) final month in reference to the alleged kidnapping of a Rajkot jeweller in 2000, walked out of jail on Thursday night after a trial court docket granted him bail.
Jat, a resident of Sector-5 in Rohini, Delhi, was picked up from his residence within the wee hours of May 15 by ATS and was handed over to the Detection of Crime Branch of Rajkot metropolis police. The Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, had secured his custody until May 23. But as his remand ended, Jat was despatched to judicial custody by a neighborhood court docket in Rajkot.
Jeweller Bhaskar Parekh and his buddy Paresh Shah have been allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint close to Trikon Baug on November 11, 2000 by a gang, on the orders of a mafia group primarily based in Dubai. The group is supported by Asif Reza Khan and Aftab Ahmed Ansari, the alleged founding member of terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen. Shah was rescued from Bharuch on November 26 by police after an operation. But Parekh was taken to Delhi. He was launched by kidnappers on December 1, 2000 solely after they have been paid Rs 1.5 crore ransom, say DCB. The cash was for use for funding terror actions in India and perform assaults on politicians, stated police.
The investigators stated that the automotive which was used to launch Parekh in Delhi belonged to Jat. A Rajkot court docket had declared Jat an absconder after he remained out of the police web until ATS lastly nabbed him in May.
After he was despatched to judicial custody, Jat, who practices regulation at Rohini court docket, moved Rajkot District and Sessions Court on May 23 for bail. Exercising its discretionary energy, the court docket of further classes choose Harsh Trivedi granted him bail on June 8.
Opposing the bail plea, the general public prosecutor, in a submission earlier than the court docket, claimed that Jat was concerned in a conspiracy hatched by a global gang, and that he had remained on the run for nearly 16 years.
Jat’s lawyer Piyush Shah advised The Indian Express that his shopper was a law-abiding citizen and the court docket granted him bail exercising its discretionary energy.
“But our defence was that police by no means made severe efforts to succeed in to Jat. Police went to Delhi solely as soon as to search for my shopper in all these years. Nor did he know that he was wished within the case till ATS picked him up.
“Therefore, he was not an absconder. He is a law-abiding citizen and an advocate and the court granted him bail exercising its discretionary power,” he stated.
The court docket granted bail to Jat appreciating that he’s unlikely to flee from justice.
“In view of the matter, considering the role attributed to the present applicant and without touching to the merits and demerits of the allegations, I am inclined to release the applicant—accused on bail by exercising discretionary power. As the applicant is active legal practitioner in Delhi, having his family there, he is not likely to flee away from justice,” the choose acknowledged in his order.
After the court docket granted him bail on a bail bond of Rs 2,5000 and orders to give up his passport inside every week, Jat was launched from Rajkot Central Jail on Thursday night.
His advocate Shah stated that Jat surrendered his passport to the trial court docket on Friday and had left for Delhi.
Jat was the 51st accused to be arrested within the case. Two others accused within the case, Asif Reza Khan and Rajsi Hathiya Mer, have been killed in police encounter. The remaining all are out on bail. Ansari was later convicted within the alleged terrorist assault on American Centre in Kolkata.
