Tags:
Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, November 21: Three of the five doctors accused in the J J Hospital shoot-out incident were discharged from the case by designated TADA judge P K Chavare today. The judge maintained there was no evidence against the doctors to hold them responsible for aiding and abetting terrorist acts.
Dr Banwarilal Bansal, Dr Mohananna Gedam and Dr Sheikh Abdul Hameed were discharged on grounds that they were innocent and could not be held responsible. The three, who had been arrested under Section 120 B for aiding and abetting terrorism, had rendered medical assistance to one of the main accused in the case.
Reading out the order, the judge maintained there was no material on the basis of which charges could be framed against them. The judgement on discharge applications of the remaining two doctors in the case, Dr Kamble and Dr A K Desai both from Surat, will come up for hearing on Monday. The framing of charges and the actual trial in the case will begin only after discharge applications are cleared.
These doctors had administered treatment to one of the persons injured in police firing at J J hospital, when the offenders were returning after making a 8220;hit.8221; The man the attackers killed in his hospital bed belonged to the Arun Gawli gang. The hit was supposed to have been carried out on behalf of the Dawood gang by Subhash Singh Thakur and Sunil Sawant alias Sautya. Of the two, Thakur is in prison, while Sautya was allegedly murdered in Dubai last year.
The killers were aided in their task by the then president of Bhiwandi Municipal Corporation, one Jai Surya, who also provided them with a getaway car, a white Contessa.
Thakur and Sautya led their injured colleague down the staircase of J J Hospital and sped in the Contessa towards Bhiwandi, where they were taken to these doctors by Jai Surya, who is himself now under arrest. The doctors were said to have treated the injured man under pressure from the latter.
According to sources, Dawood Ibrahim is bent on eliminating Thakur lest he part with more information on the case than the authorities presently have.
Mumbai police, who have received this information, have requested the concerned magistrate not to order Thakur8217;s presence in court as a routine matter to prevent him from being eliminated before the case, said to be in the stage of final hearing, is decided once and for all.
