PANJIM: The Additional Sessions Court at Mapusa dismissed the anticipatory bail application of former Aldona sarpanch and present panchayat member Pranesh Naik and directed him to surrender immediately before the Mapusa police and cooperate with the investigations of the case.
Naik in his application had stated that a case was registered against him on the basis of a false and fabricated complaint filed by Swapnil Pednekar at the Mapusa police station at the behest of Amar Mandrekar, with whom the applicant was in enemical terms.
According to the prosecution, a case was registered against Naik on August 2, following a complaint by Pednekar, stating that applicant along with three unknown persons, with their common intention, wrongfully confined him in a car, assaulted him with slaps and threatened to kill him. A case under Sections 342, 323, 506 (ii) read with Section 34 IPC and under Sections of 3, 4, 25, 25, 27 of the Arms Act were registered against Naik.
Arguing on behalf of Naik, Adv Kamlakant Poulekar contended that despite being named in the attack on the applicant in 2021, no action was taken against Mandrekar. Now for settling political scores, a false FIR has been lodged against Naik by the informant at the behest of Mandrekar.
Adv Poulekar also submitted that the three other persons named as co-accused were arrested and were ultimately granted bail by the Sessions Court.
Adv Vinayak Porob, who appeared for the intervener for the victim Swapnil Pednekar told the court that the gun was yet to be recovered, and that the offences were of serious nature and based on real and not fabricated facts. He prayed that the anticipatory bail application be rejected.
After hearing both the parties, the Sessions Judge Bosco Roberts found that role of the applicant is very clear and quite distinguishable from that of the other three accused, who were granted bail by the Sessions Court, Panjim.
