17 November,2023 02:19 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Bombay High Court declined to grant bail to an associate of gangster Chhota Rajan who has been convicted for the 2011 killing of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey. The court also rejected his plea seeking suspension of the life imprisonment sentence he was handed, stated a report in PTI.
According to the report, a division bench of Justices NW Sambre and NR Borkar was hearing Satish Kalya's, close aide of Chhota Rajan, plea. They dismissed his petition stating that he did not warrant release on bail by suspension of the sentence.
The court, reportedly, stated that the evidence established that Dey's death was a homicide caused by a firearm injury. They also noted that the weapon used to commit the offence was that of Kalya.
The court said, "The fact remains that at the behest of the applicant (Kalya), there is recovery of the weapon which was used in the commission of the offence. The weapon was also proved to be used in the offence."
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The bench further noted that even if the convict had undergone a long period in jail, the court "needs to be sensitive to the earlier convictions of the accused persons".
The PTI report cited the court order stating, "The applicant/accused (Kalya) is part of an underworld gang and in a calculated manner, executed the offence in question at the behest of syndicate head Chhota Rajan, who is presently lodged in Tihar jail."
Kalya, with Chhota Rajan and six others, was convicted by a special court in May 2018 for the murder of Jyotirmoy Dey and received life imprisonment. All convicted parties had filed appeals in the High Court contesting their convictions.
The prosecution, meanwhile, maintained that Dey's killing was orchestrated by Rajan due to articles penned by the journalist which were deemed offensive by the former, the report added.
On June 11, 2011, Dey was shot dead by bike-borne assailants in Mumbai's Powai area with Kalya allegedly firing the fatal shots as the pillion rider.
Meanwhile, Kalya's counsel Shirish Gupte, arguing for his release on bail, said that he was incarcerated for a long period of time since he was arrested in 2011 and that there is also a pending appeal against conviction based on circumstantial evidence and advocated for his release due to extended duration of imprisonment.
