HC denies bail to convict of 2016 double murder in Kalyan

He was found in a suspicious circumstance at the time of arrest, with possession of the murder weapon, a knife, and the mutilated genital of the deceased

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday denied bail to a convict in a grisly double murder case, with medical evidence and the unusual circumstances he was found in during arrest presenting as strong evidence against him.

HC denies bail to convict of 2016 double murder in Kalyan

Anil Meghdas Pateniya was arrested in May 2016 for allegedly murdering two people – Madan Sunar and his cousin Raju Sunar - in Kalyan. Based on Madan’s father-in-law Lal Bahadur Sunar’s complaint filed around 12 noon on May 2, the police lodged a criminal case and began investigation. A few suspects were detained, one of them was a juvenile. Pateniya, who was found in an unusual circumstance at the time of his arrest, with a knife, the murder weapon, and mutilated genitals of the deceased, was also a suspect. The sessions court on December 12, 2023, convicted Pateniya and sentenced him to lifetime imprisonment for gruesome murder.

Advocate Aniket Vagal, representing Pateniya, argued that the arrest was made solely based on circumstantial evidence, and that he was only deposed on recovery of knife and a body part of one of the deceased from his pocket, which could have been planted. He then questioned the basis of his arrest, and the motive of the prosecution.

Additional public prosecutor, Arfan Sait, explained the circumstances in which the accused was found carrying the mutilated private parts of the deceased. He opposed his bail, basing his argument on the nature of the injuries and how the murder was committed.

A division bench, led by justices Sarang V Kotwal and S M Modak, denied the contentions of the defence that the police planted incriminating articles and the mutilated body parts on Pateniya’s person. The court also expressed concern over the unusual circumstance, in which he was arrested. “The offence was committed in a most cruel manner,” the court said.

After going through the evidence submitted, along with the medical evidence, showing multiple stabbings all over the murdered cousins’ bodies, and the corresponding injuries showing amputation of their private parts, the court denied bail to Pateniya. “This is another corroborative piece of evidence. It is not possible to record any finding in favour of the applicant in view of this strong material against him”, the court remarked.