Mumbai: Observing that at this stage it was revealed that the arrested accused, Premchand Jaiswal, was the leader of the gang and he, along with his other associates, hatched a criminal conspiracy and committed the offence, a special MCOCA court this week rejected his bail plea in connection with the robbery of Rs 72 lakh from Cafe Mysore owner Naresh Nayak’s Matunga residence.

The judge said that material placed on record showed that he was also a beneficiary of the property — cash and gold — robbed from Nayak’s house. The court also rejected the bail plea of another accused, Hiren Waghela, at whose instance Rs 97,000 was allegedly recovered by the police.
“It also demonstrates that he was a member of the criminal conspiracy hatched by other co-accused. He is also a beneficiary in the property, i.e., cash and gold robbed from the house of the informant. Thus, there is sufficient prima facie material showing his complicity in this crime. Hence, I don’tt find substance in the contention of the applicant… that there is no material showing complicity…,” the judge said in Waghela’s bail order. On May 13 last year, the accused, posing as crime branch and poll officers, conducted a “search” at Nayak’s residence, claiming that they had information that he stashed Rs 17 crore, and took Rs 72 lakh. Sion police invoked the stringent (MCOCA against the nine accused, including two policemen—one of them retired.
Refusing to grant Jaiswal bail, the judge said that the chargesheet and investigation papers at this stage demonstrate that the accused robbed cash of Rs 72 lakh and gold coins in the presence of the victim. “He (the victim) identified this accused in a test identification parade conducted on July 30, 2024… This accused actively participated as an Income Tax Officer in an alleged fake raid…,” the judge said.
The judge said that a witness also corroborated the prosecution’s case, showing Jaiswal’s active participation in the serious offences. “…analysis of CCTV footage in panchanama dated May 24, 2024… demonstrates the presence of this accused in commission of this crime,” the judge said. Seeking bail for Jaiswal, his lawyer submitted that there was no material on record showing that he formed the gang and was the leader. “Except bare words of police officers, there is no material showing there was organised crime syndicate headed by accused…and he was the head,” the lawyer said.