Dhaba firing case: Court rejects bail plea of accused

Nagpur: The pre-arrest bail application of Murlidhar alias Mehul Advani, a wannabe Bollywood star, was rejected by district and additional sessions judge SC Munghate on Thursday in the case of alleged firing by him at his father's Advani Dhaba on Umred Road.

District government pleader Nitin Telgote had opposed the bail plea. Mehul has now approached Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, which is slated to hear the appeal on October 24, it's learnt.

The sessions court had on Friday also adjourned the hearing of the bail plea of Mehul's father Vishnu, as the prosecution sought time since the investigation officer was not present to furnish his say. The court is now set to hear the bail plea once again on October 23. Vishnu and his son Mehul were booked for attempt to murder after firing two rounds at a customer at their eatery on Umrer Road on October 15.

Vishnu had been taken to Kuhi police station after the firing. The cops had rounded up Mehul too. However, leaving rural police top brass stunned, Mehul had slipped away from the police station. Senior PI Santosh Wairagade was suspended by SP, rural, Shailesh Balkawade over this incident.

Vishnu, who is a diabetic, had subsequently got admitted at a hospital. Last week, Vishnu was sent to jail by the magistrate after prosecution opposed his bail on the grounds that his son was yet to be nabbed. The prosecution now wants Mehul's custody to ascertain whether there were any firearms other than the licensed one.

The Advanis had in the past got two officers from rural police, and a constable from city police, trapped by the state ACB.

A constable of Zonal DCP office was trapped on a complaint by the Advanis that he was demanding a bribe to furnish information on the mobile location of his servant, who had fled with Rs 10 lakh cash. There had been a theft of Rs 45 lakh from Advani's residence at Mahal in April this year. Two servants were allegedly involved, of whom one was nabbed while the other had been on the run when the constable got trapped.

In another matter, former Senior PI of Kuhi police station Shubhash Kale and sub-inspector Sanjay Chavan were trapped by ACB upon complaints furnished by the Advanis following a bribe demand.