Court refuses bail to Satara jail constable in ₹115-cr MD case

Special judge N.R. Pradhan held that the allegations against the accused, Balu Anna Chavan, were serious in nature and that the material on record prima facie indicated his role in facilitating the activities of an organised crime syndicate while posted at Solapur Central Jail. The court said he was not entitled to bail while the investigation was still underway

Mumbai: A special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Thursday rejected the bail plea of a Solapur jail constable accused of helping an alleged drug syndicate linked to kingpin Salim Dola operate from inside prison in a ₹115-crore mephedrone (MD) case.

Court refuses bail to Satara jail constable in ₹115-cr MD case

Special judge N.R. Pradhan held that the allegations against the accused, Balu Anna Chavan, were serious in nature and that the material on record prima facie indicated his role in facilitating the activities of an organised crime syndicate while posted at Solapur Central Jail. The court said he was not entitled to bail while the investigation was still underway.

The case stems from a December 2025 operation by the Mumbai Crime Branch, which uncovered a large-scale mephedrone manufacturing unit in Satara district. During a raid at a facility in Jaoli taluka, police seized more than 7 kg of finished mephedrone and nearly 39 kg of the drug in the drying stage, with the total value estimated at around ₹115 crore. The probe led to multiple arrests, including that of Shaikh, who was identified as the alleged gang leader, and stringent provisions of MCOCA were invoked.

The court also noted that Chavan had admitted in his plea that jailed accused Faiyaz Shaikh had used his mobile phone and that money had been transferred to his bank account. The court observed that whether this was done on humanitarian grounds, as claimed by the accused, would have to be examined during trial.

According to the prosecution, Chavan allowed Shaikh, an alleged associate of drug kingpin Salim Dola, to use his mobile phone to make WhatsApp calls from jail and pass instructions to other members of the drug network. Investigators said ₹45,000 was transferred to Chavan’s bank account in instalments in return.

Investigators alleged that Shaikh, who has been lodged in Solapur jail since 2024 in connection with the same case, continued to coordinate the narcotics network from prison using Chavan’s phone to contact peddlers and handlers, including individuals based in Dubai. The syndicate is suspected to be part of a larger transnational narcotics network linked to Dola, involving hawala transactions and distributed drug manufacturing units.

Rejecting the defence claim that the phone was given only once on humanitarian grounds and that the constable had no role in the conspiracy, the court said such a defence cannot be examined at the bail stage and must be tested during trial. Considering the prima facie evidence and the gravity of the offence, the court denied bail.