Mohol's aide files bail plea in Siddiqui murder case

PUNE: Alok Bhalerao, aide of gangster Sharad Mohol who was arrested for committing the murder of Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Qateel Siddiqui at the Yerawada central jail on June 8, 2012, has filed a bail plea as there is no prima facie evidence to prove his involvement in the crime.
The bail plea will come up for hearing before the additional sessions judge N P Dhote.The court has issued a notice to the prosecution to respond to the plea by February 8. The plea filed by lawyers N D Pawar and Rohit Takawane have quoted the medical report that Siddiqui had consumed ethyl alcohol before he was murdered and these facts creates doubts about his death.
The plea states that the police have completed investigations and have filed a chargesheet and Bhalerao's detention was not essential in jail as nothing was seized from him. According to the plea, there are no eye witnesses in the case and their client was falsely implicated in the case.
The Yerawada police had filed a chargesheet in court against Mohol and Bhalerao on September 5, 2012. Siddiqui was allegedly strangled to death by Mohol (42) and Bhalerao (22) inside the high security 'anda' cell of the Yerawada central jail on June 8.
Siddiqui, who was facing charges of involvement in the terror attacks in Bangalore, Delhi and Pune was arrested by the Delhi police on November 22, 2011. He was later handed over to the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad on May 3 for investigations into an attempt to plant a bomb near the Dagdusheth Ganapati temple on February 13, 2010 - the day of the German Bakery blast in which 17 people were killed and 64 others were injured.
The Yerawada police's chargesheet said that Siddiqui (27), in a conversation with Bhalerao, had boasted of making a second attempt to plant a bomb at the Dagdusheth Ganapati temple if he was released from jail. It said that Bhalerao had informed Mohol about Siddiqui's alleged plan, following which the duo conspired to murder Siddiqui.
The chargesheet said that on June 8, Mohol and Bhalerao walked into Siddiqui's cell between 9.45am and 10am. Mohol used two draw-strings from a pair of shorts to strangle Siddiqui, while Bhalerao caught hold of the victim's legs. Later, they burnt the drawstrings and threw the ashes in the toilet in an attempt to destroy evidence, the chargesheet said.