Road rage-abduction case: Court denies pre-arrest bail to Puja Khedkar's father

Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) A Navi Mumbai court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail application of former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar's father, Dilip Khedkar, who was booked for allegedly abducting a truck driver following a road rage incident last month.

Opposing the bail, police submitted that Khedkar and his wife Manorama had destroyed evidence by making the CCTV DVR disappear, hiding the SUV, and the victim's mobile phone.

Police also flagged "non-cooperation" by Manorama, who was granted interim pre-arrest bail last month, in the same case.

Citing the couple's previous case of land encroachment at gunpoint, police stated that their actions were "of an organised criminal nature." Dilip Khedkar has been on the run since the alleged incident occurred on September 13 on the Mulund-Airoli Road in Navi Mumbai.

He had sought pre-arrest bail under section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

District and additional sessions court judge (Belapur), P A Sane, rejected the bail application.

The reasoned order is not available yet.

As per the FIR, a cement-mixer truck grazed an SUV owned by Dilip Khedkar, following which, he and his driver-cum bodyguard, Praful Salunkhe, kidnapped the truck driver and took him to the Khedkar bungalow in Pune.

Police tracked the SUV through technical analysis and rescued the victim even as Manorama Khedkar obstructed their entry.

Salunkhe, who was involved in the abduction, has been arrested in the case.

The Rabale Police have registered a case under section 137(2) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the accused.

During the hearing, police accused the "highly educated couple" of misusing the law, non-cooperation, and destruction of crucial evidence.

Police stated that Manorama Khedkar had failed to appear for investigation despite being granted interim bail.

She has been accused of appearing at the police station concerned only after sunset, attempting to exploit the law that prohibits questioning women during night hours, police said.

Police claimed that Manorama's bail application contained false claims, including the statement that the victim was given "good food," which the driver refuted, stating he was served "stale food." The investigators claimed that Dilip Khedkar locked the driver in the basement of his Pune bungalow.

When police located the victim, Manorama allegedly locked the bungalow and released dogs, actively obstructing law enforcement.

Police told the court that granting bail to Dilip Khedkar would seriously affect the investigation, currently pursued across Delhi, Pune, and Navi Mumbai. PTI AVI COR NSK