HC grants bail to 2 accomplices of former BJP MLA

Former Shinde Sena corporator assault case: MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to two accused arrested for allegedly assaulting former Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) corporator Mahesh Gaikwad and his supporters, soon after former BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shot at him in the Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar in February 2024

Former Shinde Sena corporator assault case:

HC grants bail to 2 accomplices of former BJP MLA

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to two accused arrested for allegedly assaulting former Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) corporator Mahesh Gaikwad and his supporters, soon after former BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shot at him in the Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar in February 2024.

A single judge bench of justice NJ Jamadar granted bail to Sandeep Sarvankar and Ranjit Yadav, primarily in view of the fact that they played relatively minor roles in the attack.

Referring to the entire sequence of events, justice Jamadar said the applicants did not themselves assault Gaikwad or Patil. “They were engaged with the other members of the informant (Mahesh Gaikwad) party. In such circumstances, whether the applicants shared the common object of the unlawful assembly, in the peculiar facts of the case, appears to be a matter for adjudication at the trial,” the court said.

The court also considered that Sarvankar was behind bars from February 3, 2024, and Yadav from February 10 and ordered them to be released on furnishing personal bonds of ₹1 lakh each with one or two sureties in the same amount, as the investigation was complete and their further detention as undertrial prisoners was unwarranted.

The assault incident had taken place in the cabin of Anil Jagtap, senior inspector of the Hill Line police station, on February 2. After fights between their supporters for two consecutive days – January 31 and February 2 - both sides had landed in the police station to get FIRs registered against each other.

When Jagtap stepped out for some work, the former BJP legislator suddenly took out a pistol and started firing at the Shiv Sena leader and his supporter Rahul Patil. As Mahesh Gaikwad collapsed, Ganpat Gaikwad continued to assault him with the butt of his firearm. Hearing shots being fired, some Ganpat Gaikwad supporters, including Sarvankar and Yadav, rushed into the cabin and started assaulting members of the rival party.