HC grants bail to five accused of abducting Ponda businessman

Panaji: The Bombay high court has granted bail to five people arrested last year in connection with the daylight abduction of a businessman, Sandeep Chowdhary, from Ponda.

Chowdhary was allegedly forced into a car, taken across the Goa-Karnataka border, and wrongfully confined in Bengaluru, from where he later escaped and was rescued by Goa police. He alleged that the accused demanded Rs 2 crore, threatening to kill him if the demand was not met. He further stated that he was assaulted during transit and injected with intoxicating substances to prevent him from escaping. The FIR includes charges of kidnapping, causing hurt, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy.

The high court granted bail to Muneer A Shafiq, Shakhir Siddiq, Mahammad Thamim, Abdul Lathif, and Ijaz Ahmad, noting that they had spent about 10 months in custody. The court observed that continued incarceration was not necessary.

“Although two witnesses are examined, there are 24 more witnesses that are yet to be examined. It is unlikely that the trial will conclude in the foreseeable future,” the court said. It also noted that the complainant and the victim had not identified the accused. “There is no requirement for the applicant’s continued incarceration in custody,” stated Justice Neela Gokhale.

In Muneer’s case, the court said it was undesirable to keep the 22-year-old with hardened criminals. Defence counsel cited the victim’s statement that his face was covered and he was drugged.
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