Munna Yadav, family are known criminals: Cops

Nagpur: Making the most clear statement as yet on the involvement Omprakash

Munna Yadav

’s family in the deadly assault on his relatives, the Dhantoli police strongly opposed their anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday, terming them as “known criminals”.

In an affidavit submitted to Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, cops squarely blamed Munna, a close aide of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and his entire family for the brutal attack on Mangal Yadav and his kin with sword, iron rods, sticks and bricks, which left them seriously injured.

The cops said that if they hadn’t reached the spot in time, more severe crime (like murder) would have been committed by petitioner Arjun and other co-accused, including his father Munna, brother Karan, and mother Lakshmi, who is BJP corporator from Ajni area.

The affidavit by Dhantoli police sub inspector (PSI) Anantrao Wadatkar stated that Arjun’s custodial interrogation was necessary to know the names of other co-accused and their whereabouts.

In a series of reports, TOI has been reporting how the entire family of Munna, who is also State Construction Workers’ Welfare Board chairman, has been absconding for three weeks, and the city police have failed to arrest them. There are allegations that Munna’s strong political connections with BJP top brass have helped him evade arrest.

As per the affidavit, even the sword used in the crime is yet to be recovered, but the police have recovered the bloodstained clothes of the 19-year-old petitioner, Munna’s son Arjun. “His clothes and blood samples needs to be taken for proper investigations. If applicants are released on bail, there’s every possibility that they would tamper with the evidence and also pressurize witnesses. The petition is devoid of any merit and deserves to be dismissed in the interest of justice,” the PSI said.

The entire family has been named in the FIR filed by Mangal. A similar case of deadly assault is pending against Arjun and another person, where they have been booked under Sections 323 and 504 of IPC. From the statement recorded by the investigating officer, it is clear that the present applicant is involved in the crime, Wadatkar said.

The anticipatory bail pleas of Lakshmi, Karan and Arjun had been earlier rejected by additional sessions judge TS Akali on October 27, holding that their custodial interrogation was vital for further investigations. Their family has been booked under Sections 324, 325, 147, 148 and 149 of IPC, besides 307, which is for attempt to murder.