
Court grants police magisterial custody of Mane
The expert panel of the regional mental hospital at Yerawada on Monday submitted before judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) Umeshchandra More that state transport (ST) bus driver Santosh Maruti Mane is not mentally ill. During the observation period from January 28 to February 5,2012,serial mental status examinations conducted by the panel of psychiatrists,facts communicated by the ward staff and psychometric evaluations in our opinion are not sufficient to diagnose a major psychiatric illness at present, the report said. In short,the accused is not mentally ill, the judge said in open court.
When the judge asked if he had anything to say in his defence,he initially kept quiet. The judge then told him not to be afraid. Mane replied in Marathi,He majhya haatun ghadle nahi (I did not do this). None of Manes relatives was present before the court.
Manes observation time with the Yerawada mental hospital ended on Monday,after which ACP crime branch Rajendrasinh Mohite brought him to court. The police sought Manes magisterial custody,which was granted by the court till February 18.
Despite bar association opposition,lawyer represents Mane in court
Despite opposition from the Pune Bar Association (PBA),advocate Mahesh K Agarwal submitted his vakalatnama for Mane before the court on Monday. When the judge asked Mane if he needed a lawyer,he said yes,but he had no lawyer to represent him. The judge asked the police and assistant public prosecutor A K Pacharne to assist Mane. Meanwhile,advocate Agarwal spoke to Mane for a couple of minutes and submitted his vakalatnama to the court.