Court grants anticipatory bail to man accused in case of bid to murder hotel owner

A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has granted anticipatory bail to a man accused in a case of attempt to murder a hotel owner in 2021. Additional Sessions Judge Premal S Vithalani said in the event of arrest of the applicant/accused, Aakash Baban Rasal, for offences punishable under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 326 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), he be released on bail on a personal recognizance bond of Rs 15,000 with one surety in the like amount.
A copy of the order passed on September 25 was made available. The main accused in the case has already been released on bail.
According to the prosecution, on October 15, 2021, the main accused came to the victim›s hotel in Castle Mill area of Thane city and asked to be served a chicken dish, saying he would eat the same outside the hotel while drinking liquor. The victim refused to serve the food outside the hotel and suggested him that he could take a parcel. At this, the prime accused got angry and assaulted the victim on his head with a sharp-edged weapon. As the victim tried to resist the blow, he also received injury on his hand. When the victim shouted for help, the staff members came there. The attacker then fled from the spot. The victim was admitted to a hospital. His statement was subsequently registered and the main accused was arrested following registration of the case.
After completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was filed against the main accused and co-accused Rasal was shown as absconding. The counsel for Rasal argued that there is no material in the chargesheet against him. It is argued that the prime accused is already released on bail, and custodial interrogation of the present applicant is not required, the latter›s counsel said. The judge noted that neither in the FIR nor in the supplementary statement of the informant (victim) it was alleged that the applicant was present when the crime was committed. Similarly, none of the prosecution witnesses in their statements stated the name of the present applicant/accused. According to the prosecution, CCTV footage of the hotel shows the applicant was present with the main accused when the offence took place.
Whether the said fact is correct or not would be considered at the time of trial, the court said. ‹›At this stage, I find that in the FIR there are no allegations that the present applicant took participation in the actual assault of the informant. He has not caused any injury to the informant,›› the judge said. The present applicant can be granted the benefit of anticipatory bail, the court said.