Pune lawyer to move bail plea for absconder

Soni’s family has roped in advocate ND Patil,a veteran lawyer from Pune and former president of Pune Bar Association,to defend him. “While the victim in her statement to the police has alleged that Soni and five other boys had raped her,there are several discrepancies between her statement and Soni’s version. Contending that my client has not committed any crime and he fears arrest,I will move the court for anticipatory bail,” said Patil.

He said there are provisions in the CrPC under which his client can be granted anticipatory bail.

Patil claimed that Soni had come to meet him a couple of days ago and revealed his side of the story. “After the victim had woken up on Sunday,she allegedly got into a fight over money with the boys. Soni claims that she was demanding money from him and others after claiming to have been raped by them. The pressure tactics didn’t go down well with Soni and he had refused to comply with her demands,following which a scuffle took place between him and the victim,” he said.

Trombay police sources neither denied or confirmed this allegation and said they have to go by the version of the girl as she is the complainant in the case.

The lawyer said when Soni,Harshavardhan Yadav and the victim had gone to the chemist shop,Yadav had accompanied the girl inside and prodded her to take a contraceptive pill,while Soni remained seated in the autorickshaw. He had also reportedly told Yadav to get him a painkiller as he had hurt himself in their scuffle.

“The boys had dropped the girl off at Bandra and then returned to their rooms. Soni,Yadav and Jaskaran Singh had left for Jamshedpur the same day. However,when Soni’s family saw his name being splashed on news channels,his parents had reportedly told them to return to Mumbai and surrender to the police. Soni had come to Pune to meet me,” Patil said.

Patil said he also plans to question whether the girl was a helpless victim as she claims or a consenting party. “She went along with the boys willingly,consumed drinks after being goaded by Yadav. She is an adult and it is possible that she had agreed to have physical relations with Soni,” said Patil.

“If we are not granted bail or if Soni is arrested before I move court,we will appear for him when the police seek his remand,” he said.