Court rejects ex-MLA Rambeer Shokeen's anticipatory bail plea

A Delhi court has dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of former MLA Rambeer Shokeen, who has been chargesheeted along with alleged gangster Neeraj Bawana and others in a case under the MCOCA, saying there was incriminating evidence showing he had played an active role in a crime syndicate.
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Pandit denied relief to Shokeen, who was declared a proclaimed offender by the court on August 26 last year, observing he had harboured the other co-accused in the alleged crime syndicate run by Neeraj.
"The anticipatory bail application moved on behalf of accused Rambeer Shokeen is dismissed as being not maintainable in view of Section 21 of the MCOCA and also on merits since there is incriminating evidence on record which shows that this accused has harboured other co-accused and thus, playing an active role in the syndicate run by accused Pankaj Sehrawat and Neeraj Sehrawat," the judge said.

Shokeen, who has been evading arrest in the case, had sought anticipatory bail claiming that no role has been assigned to him in the police charge sheet and there was no admissible evidence to show that he was connected with the alleged organised activities of Neeraj.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police opposed his bail plea saying that Shokeen was an active member and the political face of the organised crime syndicate.
The court is currently hearing arguments on framing of charges in the case.

The police has chargesheeted 10 persons, including Neeraj and Shokeen, for alleged offences punishable under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) provisions.

In its charge sheet, police has said Neeraj belonged to a lower middle class family but enjoyed a lavish lifestyle from the money generated through the syndicate.
Besides Neeraj and Shokeen, the police has chargesheeted Neeraj's elder brother Pankaj Sehrawat and other arrested members of the syndicate -- Sunil Rathi, Amit Malik alias Bhura, Naveen Dabas, Rahul Dabas, Naveen Hooda, Deepak Dabas and Gurpreet Singh in the case.
The police, which has named 163 persons as prosecution witnesses in the case, claimed that these accused were involved in several criminal cases.