Last accused in police net, escaped to Singapore night of Harni boat capsize

The SIT said it has initiated the process to formally arrest. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, a supervising officer in the SIT, said: “We had probed Bhatani’s travel history. He had escaped to Singapore on the night of January 18 itself. Thereafter, he had moved to Bangkok. His escape had been confirmed by technical inputs and also by statements of other accused…”

“Since there was a look out circular against the accused and we also initiated the process to freeze their bank accounts, pressure had mounted on Bhatani and he had to return and surrender.”

The SIT said that Bhatani holds a 5 per cent share in Kotia Projects and also had a personal contract to run a zipline at the Lake Zone in Harni. “He is also the signing authority along with Vatsal Shah (another partner), who is currently in police custody. We will question them together once we are granted custody,” Jadeja said.

The police had on Friday sought before court the remand of Vatsal Shah and his family members Nutan Shah and Vaishakhi Shah.

In the remand application, the SIT had said that they had “faced a financial loss” during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and “tried all possible means to overcome the loss and gain more profit” by setting aside safety measures at the Lake Zone, including hiring trained boat operators and staff required to run a boating facility.