Vadodara: The sessions court on Saturday denied anticipatory bail to a head constable accused in custodial death of Babu Sheikh Nisar who was allegedly killed by six policemen at the Fatehgunj station in Vadodara in December last year..
Mahesh Rathwa, who was attached to Fatehgunj police station before being shunted off to police headquarters, was named as an accused by the CID (crime) in the chargesheet it filed in a local court here. Rathwa had pleaded that he has been wrongly framed in the case as his name was not even mentioned as an accused in the FIR. He also told the court that he is ready to accept any conditions that the court will give while allowing him bail and will also cooperate with the investigating agency.
In response to Rathwa’s bail application, the CID (crime) informed the court through an affidavit that he has been a part of police department for the last 10 years and is aware of legal procedures due to which there is a possibility that he will threaten or lure the witnesses or tamper with evidence.
“The bail applicant hid the truth from the investigators for misleading them so that the other accused are protected,” said district government pleader Anil Desai. The investigating officer also told the court that Rathwa was present in the computer room where the victim Nishar was killed. “The applicant had also physically tortured the victim,” the affidavit stated.
Upholding the arguments, the court of principal district judge M R Mengdey turned down Rathwa’s bail plea.
Rathwa and a sub-inspector were not named in the original FIR along with six other cops, but after Rathwa changed his statement before a judicial magistrate, his role became suspicious. He and sub-inspector Dilipsinh Rathod were named as accused later in the chargesheet. It was his car that was used by the other accused to take Nishar’s body from the police station for disposal.