Actor Lovina seeks discharge from case

MUMBAI: Small-time actor Lovina Bhatia, charged with abetment of suicide (section 306, IPC) in the Kunal Singh case, has filed an application in the Bombay high court seeking discharge.
Bhatia (25) was arrested in November 2009 but given bail. She says in her application: "There is no direct evidence against the applicant. Can the applicant be made to face trial when there is no direct evidence against her?"
She says the CBI filed a chargesheet against her based on circumstantial evidence and that Singh's wife Anuradha has not made any allegations against her."Anuradha has stated that neither she knew me nor was aware that I was with the deceased at the time of his death," Bhatia says in her application.
The CBI has opposed the actor's plea for discharge. In an affidavit, the investigation agency's M V Lad says: "The probity of statements of the witnesses cannot be looked into at this stage, when there is a prima facie case against the accused. The charges are yet to be framed."
Bhatia's application came up for hearing on Monday. The CBI sought time to go through the 100-page compilation submitted by the actor's lawyers. Justice A R Joshi has posted the case for hearing on April 26.
The HC, on a plea by Singh's father, Rajendra, handed over the case to the CBI in March 2010. Singh was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his Oshiwara apartment on February 6, 2008. Bhatia, his friend, was in the flat at the time of the incident. She told the police she was in the bathroom and saw Singh hanging upon coming out.
Not satisfied with the police investigation, Rajendra Singh, a retired colonnel of Indian Army had petitioned to the HC seeking inquiry by an independent agency. The court had earlier also formed a Special Investigating team (SIT), which could not find any additional material in the case to file supplementary charge sheet.
However, the investigation revealed that it was a homicidal death and not a suicide. Besides, the investigation revealed that it was not possible for one person to have committed the offence, observed the judges.
The SIT had arrested Bhatia on November 23, 2009.
Kunal, a married man and father of two was known name in Bhojpuri film. He had also worked in film Dil Hee Dil main, a remake of Hollywood superhit You have got Mail!, with Sonali Bendre.