Thane court grants bail to man booked under MCOCA over kidnapping, dacoity

The Dombivali police in the district booked Pawar and others for kidnapping, dacoity and voluntarily causing hurt under the Indian Penal Code IPC besides pressing charges under the stringent MCOCA, Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act. The court said it appears that the accused and the complainant were friends and on the date of the alleged incident, they were together for a birthday party.

A court in Thane has granted bail to a man facing charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a case of alleged kidnapping and dacoity registered nearly two years ago.

In his order of April 15, Special Judge Amit M Shete gave relief to Tushar, alias Vangya Prakash Pawar, raising doubts over the prosecution's version.

A copy of the order was made available on Wednesday. As per the prosecution, the accused persons kidnapped the complainant at gunpoint around 8 pm on August 13, 2022, and demanded Rs 20,000 for his release. The Dombivali police in the district booked Pawar and others for kidnapping, dacoity and voluntarily causing hurt under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides pressing charges under the stringent MCOCA, Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act. The court said it appears that the accused and the complainant were friends and on the date of the alleged incident, they were together for a birthday party. It noted that the complainant returned home a few hours after he was allegedly kidnapped and there was no material on record to suggest that his family paid Rs 20,000 for his release.

There is no medical certificate supporting the prosecution's allegations of assault, the court said, adding that the co-accused in the case have already been granted bail.

"Considering the peculiar facts as well as the material, the bar under section 21(4) of the MCOC Act could not be attracted," the judge said, granting bail to Pawar.

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