Pragati Maidan Tunnel dacoity: Court rejects bail plea of man accused of doing recce

A man accused of conducting a reconnaissance of the area prior to the newsworthy Pragati Maidan Tunnel gunpoint robbery of a businessman of Rs. 50 lakh in June had his bail application rejected by Delhi’s Patiala House Court. Using a country-made pistol he had with him, the accused accidentally shot himself and was taken to the hospital. In this regard, a separate case was filed in Delhi’s Burari. However, a grant in the robbery case has already been given to an accused Pawan.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Shailender Malik on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of Vishal considering his case different from that of Pawan.
“With regard to the applicant/accused it has already come on record that he carried out recce prior to the incident and thereafter one day prior to the incident he received a gunshot injury from the country-made pistol being in his possession. Therefore separate FIR was registered,” ASJ Shailender Malik said in the order on August 29.
He observed, “That apart, there is evidence showing that at the time of incidence applicant/ accused may not be present at the place of incident but was in contact with his co-accused persons as is reflected from CDR and call location.”

Recovery from his instance further supports that fact. Therefore, there is no basis for granting bail. As a result, the court dismissed the application. “Pawan Kumar Jha, undoubtedly one of the co-accused, has been freed on bail. However, I believe that his case is very different from that of the applicant/accused because the latter was only charged with operating a vehicle, the court stated in the order issued on August 29. The current case was filed in relation to the incident of June 24, 2023, when an armed robbery occurred in the Pragati Maidan Tunnel. Four armed robbers who arrived on two motorcycles stopped one OLA cab and forcibly robbed a passenger/businessman by taking his bag while holding him at gunpoint.