Supplementary chargesheet in Lahoria case

MUMBAI: The city crime branch on Tuesday filed a 1,500-page supplementary chargesheet in the Navi Mumbai builder Sunil Lahoria murder case, against architect Anurag Garg. Sources said that the police filed the chargesheet just a day before he was to complete the stipulated jail period of 90 days or else he would have been entitled for regular bail. This is the fifth chargesheet the crime branch has filed in the case.
In May this year the police had filed 1,800-page chargesheet against eight accused, including former encounter specialist Emmanual Amolik and Suresh Bijlani. According to the chargesheet, the police have claimed that Garg had grudges against Lahoria as he had filed a few RTI applications and due to which his two buildings were demolished and a few had come under the scanner. ``Garg also feared that his license as architect would be permanently cancelled and hence he along with a common rival Bijlani hatched a conspiracy and killed Lahoria.’’ states chargesheet.
Interestingly, in the suppliementary chargesheet police have also stated that Garg’s driver Kisan Bhosle has given statement supporting the police theory. Bhosle’s whose statement has been recorded under CRPC 164 before a magistrate states that though he was Garg’s driver, his salary was paid by Bijlani and after the killing, it was he who went to a garage carrying the contract killing money of Rs 10 lakhs to hand over to Amolik. In the chargesheet police have also tried to show how Bijlani, Garg and Amolik were closely link and had common motive to kill Lahoria.
On February 16, two men, posing as private security guards, opened fire at Lahoria at point-blank range and slashed him with a chopper as the builder walked towards his office in Vashi’s sector 28.
The police claim they gave a supari for the killing because rival Lahoria had filed RTI applications in a bid to expose FSI violations in their projects. Garg also feared he could lose his licence as Lahoria had complained against him with the Council of Architecture.Bijlani too was effected due to Lahoria’s RTI applications.