Mumbai: Bombay HC on Wednesday granted bail to a lifeguard and a co-accused in the case of the alleged murder of an MBBS student at Bandra Bandstand in Nov 2021.
Lifeguard Mithu Sukhdev Singh, the main accused, and Abdul Jabbar Ansari got the relief after it was argued that the body of the medico, Swadichha Sane, has not yet been found. Justice S G Dige, who granted the bail, directed them to appear before the police station and the investigating officer, as well as the trial court, as charges have been framed in the case.
The reasoned bail order will be available later.
Singh, through advocate Harshman Chavan, argued that he has been in jail since his arrest on Jan 13, 2023, in the alleged case of murder and destruction of evidence. He also said the case was based only on circumstantial evidence. He said police had falsely implicated him as they could not locate the student and arrested him more than a year after the alleged crime. He said he would not be a flight risk. Singh is lodged at Arthur Road Jail. Advocate Shilpa Goutam represented Jabbar.
Additional public prosecutor Sangeeta Shinde, for the state, told HC that on Nov 29, 2021, 22-year-old Sane, a student of Grant Medical College in Mumbai, left home at 9.30am for an examination. Her friend later called up her family to ask why she hadn’t turned up for it. Sane wasn’t found at the college hostel either and her family’s search for her was unsuccessful. Her brother then lodged a missing person report with Boisar police station, said Shinde. After scrutinising CCTV footage, police said she was spotted leaving Bandra station and heading for Bandstand around 1pm on Nov 29, but was not seen leaving Bandstand. Police questioned the auto driver who took her.
The police case is that Singh was with her in the early hours of Nov 30 at Bandstand and allegedly took four selfies with her. The prosecution said it conducted forensic tests, including brain mapping and narco tests on Singh, and he allegedly said he wanted intimacy but did nothing about it.