A Mumbai court denied bail to Sonu Chander, an alleged Lawrence Bishnoi gang member, in the Salman Khan house firing case. The judge ruled that MCOCA applies even without a prior criminal record, rejecting the plea on Friday
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A special court in Mumbai has refused bail to Sonu Chander alias Sonukumar Bishnoi, an alleged Lawrence Bishnoi gang member, in connection with the firing at actor Salman Khan's residence last year. The court stated that the accused cannot escape MCOCA provisions merely because there are no criminal antecedents against him.
The bail plea of Chander was rejected by Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) Judge Mahesh Jadhav on Friday, with details made available on Monday.
The special court held that evidence clearly demonstrates Chander, along with other accused and the leader of the Bishnoi gang, hatched the conspiracy to kill the victim. As per the relevant provisions of the Act, it is the membership of an organized crime syndicate that makes a person liable under MCOCA, the court observed.
The court noted that, as per record, previous chargesheets have been filed against the organized crime syndicate in Rajasthan and New Delhi. In those cases, gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi and Anmol Bishnoi, as well as other associates, hatched conspiracies and committed offenses, the court added.
"Thus, the chargesheets against the leader of the gang, Lawrence Bishnoi, and his associate Anmol Bishnoi, who are wanted accused in this case, can be taken into consideration. Merely on the ground that there are no criminal antecedents against him, the accused cannot escape from the offenses punishable under the MCOC Act," the court said.
The applicant failed to satisfy the twin conditions for bail under Section 21(4) of the MCOC Act and, hence, is not entitled to bail, the court ruled. The court further stated that the relevant Act requires reasonable grounds for believing the accused is not guilty, and that the accused is not likely to commit any offense while on bail.
Two bike-borne individuals, identified as Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, had fired outside actor Salman Khan's Galaxy apartment in Bandra in April last year. Pal, Gupta, and Chander are currently in judicial custody. Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi have been shown as wanted accused in the chargesheet filed in the case.
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