HC grants relief till March 16

Mumbai, Mar 14 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today granted relief till March 16 and 20 on two petitions filed by Baba Udyanath Pratapsingh Chauhan, allegedly involved in a conspiracy to eliminate a builder, Rashimkant Shah.

Judge Justice Vijaya Tahalramani granted relief till March 16 and 20 with a directive to the police to file a reply on the petition.

Earlier in the day, after a local court rejected the anticipatory bail application (ABA) of the accused under section 307 by Additional Session Court Judge P V Bavkar, Mr Chauhan's advocate moved two separate applications in the Bombay High Court seeking relief.

Justice Tahalramani granted relief under section 307 till March 16 and under section 302 r/w 115 of the IPC till March 20 with a directive to the police to file a reply on the petition.

When the second application was called up for hearing in the sessions court, the petitioner's advocate told the court that he had moved two applications on the same grounds in the Bombay High Court.

The higher court has kept the hearing for March 16 and March 20 on both applications on which Judge Bavkar has also granted relief on Section 302 (murder) ABA till March 20.

Baba Udyanath had moved the ABA on Friday last, after his name allegedly figured during the interrogation of four accused persons, arrested for conspiring to eliminate a builder over the Abhyudaya Nagar Redevelopment issue.

City police have arrested four persons - Mohammed Jaffer Sheikh, Aslam Khan, Salim Qureshi and Vijay Vadkar - who confessed to the police during interrogation that they were hired by Baba to kill Rashimkant Shah of Vijay Developers regarding Abhyudaya Nagar Redevelopment issue.

The four had allegedly arrived to make a bid on the life of Mr Shah, who was vying for a lucrative contract.

A rival group was also interested in securing the same contract.

It had allegedly hired the services of the three sharp-shooters, through Vadkar, to eliminate Mr Shah.

UNI