Ex-MLA Chhabil Patel gets bail in Bhanushali murder case

A former Congress MLA from Abdasa seat in Kutch, Patel had defected to the BJP in 2014. He was arrested on March 14, 2019 after being booked for allegedly getting contract-killers to kill Bhanushali, the then vice-president of BJP’s state unit, owing to political rivalry. Bhanushali was also a former Abdasa MLA.

According to police, Bhanushali was shot dead by two sharp-shooters on board a moving train in Kutch on January 8, 2019 when he was on his way to Ahmedabad from Kutch. Police say that the two sharp-shooters, later identified as Shashikant alias Bitiyadada Kamble and Ashraf Sheikh, were hired by Patel through a Kutch woman to bump off his archrival.

Police arrested 12 people, including Patel’s son Siddharth, his business partners Rahul and Vinit, the Kutch woman, and local BJP leader Jayanti Thakkar alias Jayanti Dumra. Police also arrested Surjit Pardeshi alias Bhau, the leader of a gang of sharpshooters from Pune.
Bhau gang members Nikhil Thorat, Kamble, Sheikh, Vishal Yellappa and Raju alias Sitaram Dhotre were also arrested.

Subsequently, with the police filing the charge sheet against the accused, Patel moved the High Court in March this year, seeking regular bail.

The court of Justice Samir Dave allowed his bail plea after noting that the Supreme Court had granted bail to the woman two days ago on July 29.

While granting bail to the woman accused, the Supreme Court division bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan observed on July 29: “…the trial is not likely to end in the near future and there are two special public prosecutors appointed by the State Government to conduct the trial who are not in a position to attend the trial on day-to-day basis as they are also Special Public Prosecutors in various other cases throughout Gujarat. Taking into consideration the period of incarceration and the bleak possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future, we are inclined to grant bail to the present petitioner.”

Highlighting the SC order, the High Court noted that Patel has been behind bar for more than five years. “The accused was arrested on March 14, 2019, that is more than five years (ago),” Justice Dave observed.

Earlier, Rahul, Vinit and Sidharth had secured bail. Dhotre was granted bail by the Supreme Court on January 29, followed by the woman last month.