Sessions Court rejects Agarwal’s bail plea

MUMBAI, APRIL 9: Principal Judge A S Aguiar of the City Civil and Sessions Court today rejected the anticipatory bail application of form...

MUMBAI, APRIL 9: Principal Judge A S Aguiar of the City Civil and Sessions Court today rejected the anticipatory bail application of former Congress Party member Tony Agarwal. The main accused in the drowning deaths of five youths in a Mulund well on April 5, Agrawal had moved the Sessions court after he was declared absconding by the Mulund police.

Eight youths who, allegedly at the behest of Agarwal, tried to break open into a computer centre, fell into a well as they tried to escape a police party. Five of the youths died. Computers and other items valued at Rs 21.53 lakh were stolen from the shop and allegedly taken by Agarwal, who was present at the time, in a tempo.

In his application, Agarwal submitted that according to an agreement dated 1994, he gave seven shops to the Desais at Maruti Arcade, near Mulund railway station to run Vidula Education Centre, a franchise of Aptech Computer Education, on a leave and license basis. The shops were handed back to Agarwal on April 4 this year after the agreement expired on February 29, 1998.

Story continues below this ad

On April 3, Nitin Desai requested Agarwal to hand them back the shops as they were unable to find an alternate location. However, Agarwal refused and on April 4, the Desais, along with a dozen men, tried to take forcible possession of the shops, states the application. Agarwal then moved the City Civil court after the Mulund police refused to register the complaint and obtained ad interim relief, with the court directing both the parties to refrain from occupying the shops. On April 5, at around 3.30 am, the Desais, accompanied by some persons, reportedly tried to attack Agarwal’s men who were guarding the shops, says the application. As the men fled the scene, eight of them fell into a well, of which five died.

Opposing the bail application, Special Public Prosecutor Vasanti Joshi told the court that the entire episode had been pre-planned by Agarwal who wanted to forcibly occupy the property. It is impossible for a person to hand over shops to the original owner and try to take them back just a few hours later, she argued.

Joshi also pointed out that there was enough documentary proof that the persons were hired by Agarwal to take possession of the shops. The statements of the keymaker and three survivors point to Agarwal’s direct involvement, she stated.

Rejecting the application, judge Aguiar accepted the prosecution case that the act had been pre-planned. The judge also rejected the entire contents of Agarwal’s application for anticipatory bail. Despite the ad interim order by the City Civil court, Agarwal had broken open into the shops, said judge Aguiar. H H Ponda appeared for Agarwal.