Asaram case: court rejects pre-arrest bail for sharpshooter's

A sessions court today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a man whose name came to the fore as an accomplice of the alleged henchman-cum-sharp shooter of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu during investigation by police.
The sharpshooter Kartik Haldar, arrested earlier this month for allegedly shooting dead three witnesses in rape cases against Asaram, had conveyed K D Patel's name to police.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge N G Dave rejected the bail plea on the ground that the crime under consideration was of serious nature.
Patel's counsel said they would move the High Court for pre-arrest bail.
Haldar had told police that Patel was one of his aides who was involved in the murder of at least three witnesses and assaulting four others who had testified against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai in rape cases.

Haldar was arrested from Raipur in Chhattisgarh in a joint operation by ATS and Crime Branch unit of city police.

Patel had allegedly attacked one Raju Chandak, a devotee-turned-baiter of of Asaram, in December 2009 for making a statement against the self-styled spiritual leader in connection with the death of two boys in Asaram's ashram in 2008.
Haldar had told police that Patel and another accused, Arjun Sindhi, were involved in the attack. Chandak, however, survived the bid on his life.
Asaram has been lodged at Jodhpur jail since August 2014 in connection with a rape case filed against him by police.

A Gandhinagar court on Tuesday framed charges against him for raping two Surat-based sisters.