Satish Shetty murder case main accused granted bail

Advokate Vijay Dabhade, the main accused in the RTI activist Satish Shetty murder case, was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 by a sessions court yesterday.

Dabhade and four others, Shyam Dabhade, Prashant Waghmode, Dongra Rathod and Shelar, were accused of murdering Shetty at Talegaon Dabhade on January 13, 2010. Dabhade was arrested two days after the incident.

Public prosecutor Advocate Ayub Pathan opposed Dabhade's bail plea, stating the CBI had not given a clean chit to Dabhade. Defence counsel Advocate Harshad Nimbalkar said developments had shown Dabhade was arrested merely on suspicion and there was no proof against him.

In January, Dabhade had gone on a hunger strike after he was allegedly beaten up in jail by the police. His wife Roopali had then requested the court to grant him bail as he was in poor health.