Out on bail after 7 years: Mumbai man alleges wrongful arrest, investigation lapses in murder case

A 37yearold scrap collector has been released on bail after spending nearly seven years in jail in a murder case he claims he had no connection to raising serious questions about prolonged incarceration and alleged lapses in investigationSandeep Chaurasiya arrested by Vakola police in 2019 from railway tracks walked out of Arthur Road Jail on April 9 after 2559 days in custody following legal intervention by an NGO working with undertrial prisonersArrested in 2019 claims he was unaware of chargesChaurasiya said he was picked up on June 19 2019 while sleeping near a railway trackldquoI thought they were thieves They started searching my pockets When I resisted they said they were police and took me to Vakola police stationrdquo he told middaySandeep Chaurasiya PicsSamiullah KhanHe said he was produced in court the next day and sent to custody but was not informed about the chargesldquoFor nearly five months I had no idea why I was arrested Only after receiving the chargesheet did I learn I was accused of murdering a man named Suresh Bahrardquo he saidldquoI didnrsquot even know himrdquo he addedSecond arrest new murder chargeChaurasiya said police again picked him up in June 2019 He initially believed it was linked to missed court hearings in the earlier case due to a leg injury However he claims he was instead jailed in connection with a separate murder case and remained unaware of the charges for monthsMangesh SondalkarEarlier case Assault turned murderChaurasiya said he had been previously arrested in 2017 in an assault case that was later converted to murderHe claimed the incident involved a man known as ldquoMamardquo identified as Raju Kunthe who allegedly sustained a fatal head injury after falling during a scuffle on January 16 2017During bail hearing defence highlightedgtgtGaps in investigationgtgtMissing documentsgtgtDelay in trial proceedingsgtgt The court granted bail on a bond of 15000According to ChaurasiyagtgtThe altercation followed a dispute over alcoholgtgtThe man allegedly slipped and hit his head on a dugup roadgtgtHe was taken to VN Desai Hospital but later diedgtgtPolice initially registered an assault case but later converted it to murder leading to Chaurasiyarsquos arrest and incarceration in Arthur Road JailgtgtHe was granted bail in that case on August 28 2017Allegations of procedural lapsesChaurasiya alleged thatgtgtHe was never informed about the case at the time of arrestgtgtHe was not taken to the crime scenegtgtHe was not involved in key investigation procedures such as the panchnamaldquoI was just sent to jail from courtrdquo he claimedLegal aid turns case aroundThe case took a turn when advocate Mangesh Sondalkar associated with NGO ldquoDard Se Hum Dardrdquo intervenedSondalkar saidgtgtThe chargesheet was incompletegtgtThe postmortem report was missing for nearly seven yearsgtgtThe court eventually directed authorities to provide the documentsldquoSerious discrepancies were seen between the preliminary and final autopsy reportsrdquo he saidPolice commentWhen contacted in this regard Vakola police station Senior Inspector Prakash Khandekar declined to offer any commentMental trauma during incarcerationChaurasiya described severe distress during his time in prison ldquoPeople avoided me calling me a murderer I kept saying I was innocent but no one listenedrdquo he said He added that the prolonged incarceration led to depression and suicidal thoughtsWhat the lawyer foundgtgt The charge sheet was incompletegtgt The postmortem report was missing for nearly seven yearsgtgt RTI requests for documents were initially rejectedgtgt The court eventually directed authorities to provide the documentsAt a glanceArrested June 2019Time in jail 7 years 2559 daysJail Arthur Road JailBail granted April 9 2026Bail amount R15000NGO involved Dard SeHum DardApril 9Day when Sandeep Chaurasiya walked out of jail