Acid attack: 90 days after lone arrest,GRP fails to file chargesheet

Gahalon’s lawyer R K Singh is set to file a fresh bail application on the ground that no chargesheet was filed within the mandatory 90-day period since his or her arrest.

“He was arrested 90 days ago. We had moved the lower court,which rejected the bail application. One application is pending before the Bombay High Court. I will move a fresh application before the Bombay Central railway court once again,” Singh said.

Gahalon was picked up from his Rohtak home on May 8,six days after a masked man hurled acid at Rathi. She had allegedly told police she had seen Gahalon at Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi on the day she left from there. Gahalon,police said,bears resemblance to the man shown fleeing the station in the CCTV footage of Bandra Terminus.

However,on May 17,the victim’s father,Amarsingh Rathi,had filed an affidavit in the Bombay Central railway court stating he believed Gahalon was innocent and that the police had caught the wrong man.

“Preeti may have seen Pawankumar Gahalon at Nizamuddin railway station on May 1,but she cannot say for sure. He is a nice boy who cannot be involved in such a heinous crime. The police have said he only resembles the man shown in the CCTV footage from Bandra Terminus. The police have got the wrong man while the real culprit roams freely in society. The investigation should be handed over to an appropriate investigating agency,” he had said.

The GRP has said they would not be filing the chargesheet unless its investigation was complete.

“Even though 90 days have gone by and we are supposed to file a chargesheet within that stipulated time frame in serious offences,it would not be right to do so until the collection of evidence is complete. Regardless of whether he (Gahalon) gets bail or no,our investigation will continue,” said D D Wadamre,senior inspector,GRP Crime Branch.

victim’s father moves HC for CBI probe

Meanwhile,the victim’s father moved the Bombay High Court Monday seeking a CBI probe into the case on the ground that the GRP probe had not progressed even after three months.

“After Preeti’s death,her father had written several letters to the chief minister and home minister of Maharashtra,the chief ministers of Delhi and Haryana,the National Commission for Women and even Sonia Gandhiji,requesting a CBI probe. However,none of his letters have yielded a response. He was left with no option but to approach the court for relief,” said Amarsingh’s lawyer Gautam Pyarelal.

Gahalon’s father Azad Singh also said he favoured a CBI inquiry.

“My son’s innocence has to be proved. I have very little hope from the GRP. Maybe CBI can get us justice,” he said.