NARAYAN RAMCHANDRA PAWLE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant has filed the present bail application seeking bail in connection with MCOC Special Case No.293 of 2020 pending before the Court of Special Judge (MCOC) Thane, arising from FIR No.I-0490 of 2019 dtd. 14/11/2019, registered at Police Station Nerul, District Navi Mumbai. The applicant is accused No.2 in the said case. Initially, the applicant was not named in the FIR and offence only under Sec. 364 read with Sec. 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) was recorded. Subsequently, the applicant was added as an accused. At present, there are 17 accused persons in the present case, facing prosecution under Ss. 364, 302, 201 and 120-B read with Sec. 34 of the IPC, Ss. 3, 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, Ss. 37(1) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 and Ss. 3(1)(i), 3(2), 3(3), 3(4) and 3(5) of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 (MCOC Act). The applicant was arrested on 25/11/2019 and he has remained behind bars since then.

(2.) The prosecution case against accused, in brief, is that on 14/11/2019, the informant (father of the victim Sachin Garje) found that his son had gone missing. The victim son while leaving his aunt's home, had informed that he was going to meet Vikrant @ Vicky Deshmukh i.e. accused No.5. But thereafter, he went missing. On 16/9/2019, a missing persons complaint was lodged. The informant's nephew told the informant that he had called one Vicky Auti to enquire about victim Sachin and he was informed that the victim was standing outside Grand Central Mall from where he left in a silver Skoda car alongwith one Pritam and unknown associates, proceeding towards the house of accused No.5 Vicky Deshmukh.

(3.) On 22/9/2019, the informant went to the house of accused No.5 Vicky Deshmukh, when he found that the flat of accused No.5 was locked. But,the silver Skoda car was parked outside. At this stage, the elder son of the informant called accused No.5 to enquire about the victim, when accused No.5 told him that the victim had met the said accused on 14/9/2019, that he was asking for money and thereafter, he had left for his village Gavhan. The mobile phones of the victim were switched off and the informant suspected that his son had been abducted and some offence has been committed. It is in this backdrop that on 14/11/2019, the said FIR was lodged with Nerul Police Station for offence under Sec. 364 read with Sec. 34 of the IPC against accused No.5 Vicky Deshmukh and others.