Prime accused out on bail in matka king murder case

Pujari had moved an application under Section 306 of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking “tender of pardon to accomplice”. He was granted pardon under the condition that he would voluntarily make full and true disclosure of the whole of the circumstances that led to Bhagat’s murder.

“His statements have been recorded and he has already been examined in the court. He was granted a bail against a personal bond of Rs 50,000,” his lawyer Mahesh Muley said.

Pujari,a Mulund resident,had allegedly acted as a legal adviser in the syndicate helping his co-accused to stay away from the police’s net. According to the chargesheet,the police had recovered Rs 4 lakh from his Mulund residence. The prosecution claimed that he had been paid Rs 5 lakh for his services,of which he allegedly spent Rs 1 lakh.

Bhagat was killed along with six others in Alibaug on June 13,2008,when a dumper rammed into the SUV he was travelling in. The police first booked the driver for rash driving,but later,the Crime Branch claimed that the killing was part of a larger conspiracy by Jaya and Hitesh to take over the multi-crore ‘matka’ business.

It was alleged that Jaya paid a Rs 45 lakh ‘supari’ to her paramour and Arun Gawli gang member,Suhas Roge,to carry out the hit. Eight persons—Roge,Harish Mandvekar,Kiran Amli,Shaikh Azimuddin,Pravin Shetty including Jaya,Hitesh and Pujari — were arrested by the Crime Branch.