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Hasty police action against gangsters, court grants bail to Mohol, Marne
The Pune police crime branch has spurred into hasty action after the release of two notorious gangsters Sharad Mohol (38) and Gajanan Marne (55) in the past month
The Pune police crime branch has spurred into hasty action after the release of two notorious gangsters Sharad Mohol (38) and Gajanan Marne (55) in the past month. As a direct result of their action against their release, the Pune, as well as Pimpri-Chinchwad police, slapped multiple cases on them on Tuesday. However, while Mohol and four co-accused were released on bail, Marne was remanded to judicial custody and later granted bail, both by local courts in Pune.
Marne was represented by advocate Vijaisinh Thombre in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) RK Bafna-Balghat, while Mohol was represented by Advocate Amol Dhamale in the court of JMFC MA Shaikh.
The paranoia of police officials was evidently not unfounded - Sharad Mohol, who was released in the month of January after spending years in jail over accusation of murder was found at a public event organised by a local organisation called Patit Pavan Sanstha in Guruwar peth.
In a case registered against him under Sections 143, 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); Section 37(1)with135 of Maharashtra Police Act; Section 51(b) of Disaster Management Act; and Section 11 of Maharashtra Covid-19 Regulations at Khadak police station, Mohol was arrested along with four others and produced in a local court. He was later released on bail as the police were denied custody of him.
“It was a public and annual Satyanarayan pooja that we hold in different locations every year. This time it was in Guruwar peth. It’s an open event and anyone can come. As the police claim, if someone was inconvenienced or scared, why did nobody from the crowd complain? Why could the police not find even one person to lodge a complaint?” asked advocate Manish Padekar representing Patit Pavan Sanstha.
The Gajanan Marne gang returned into major limelight after years of being in judicial custody when a rally was organised between Taloja jail and his house in Kothrud, Pune to “celebrate” his release.
“There are three factors to this - the people shooting the videos, the subsequent media trial, and the police action. The investigation officer and senior police inspector Dange called Marne’s aide while they were at Urse toll plaza and told him that he should not be able to see any rally or gathering. As per his instructions, the well-wishers who had come to meet him left,” said advocate Virendrasinh Thombre representing Marne.
Responding to Thombre’s argument, public prosecutor Sanjay Dikshit and Sr PI Dange told the court that they needed physical custody of Marne and others in order to recover CCTV footage of the toll plaza and identify others who were with Marne and that he was bound to not co-operate.
Marne’s lawyer argued that the concerned CCTV has already been submitted to Talegaon Dabhade police station and that the matter was not in their jurisdiction.
A case under Sections 267, 268, 270, 143, 149 of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 50(b) of Disaster Management Act, Section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act, Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act and Section 37(1)(5) with 135 of Maharashtra Police Act was registered at Kothrud police station. The case is against Marne, and around 200 others, of which eight were identified and arrested along with him.
The case was registered after he performed a pooja at the Lord Ganapati temple in Hamraj Chowk in Kothrud late on Monday night after reaching Pune from Taloja jail upon his release.
From the decade gone by, police have 427 members from 11 gangs on their radar including Marne and Mohol gangs.
One of the major handovers of the outgoing deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of crime Bachchan Singh to his successor DCP Srinivas Ghodage was that of these gangs.
