Poonam Bhagat gets pre-arrest bail

A sessions court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to socialite, Poonam Bhagat, who allegedly fed her husband, industrialist Jaidev Shroff, a poisonous substance at the instance of one Bengali Baba. The court also granted bail to Bengali Baba.

The Sessions Judge on Wednesday granted conditional bail to Poonam and asked her to deposit Rs 3 lakh as personal bond and furnish a local surety of the amount. She was also told to report every day to the local police station from April 28 to May 3 between 11 am and 2 pm, after which she would be required to attend the police station every Monday till the chargesheet was filed against her.

The court also asked her to furnish her current residential address to the police and not to leave Mumbai and India.

Poonam had approached the court seeking pre-arrest bail after her estranged husband Jaidev filed a police complaint against her, claiming that she, in collusion with one Bengali Baba, had given him a poisonous potion that was playing havoc with his sleep patterns and making him feel disoriented all the time.

Jaidev, through Advocate Abad Ponda, had also opposed anticipatory bail plea saying that the police report clearly mentioned that Poonam had only used a portion of the powder and her arrest was necessary to prevent her from using the substance again.

Public prosecutor Iqbal Solkar too opposed her application and on Tuesday, read out a portion of the report filed by the Khar police which mentions a conversation allegedly between Poonam and the tantrik, where she purportedly says that she given a small portion of the substance to Jaidev.

Advocate Pranav Badheka and senior counsel Amit Desai on behalf of Poonam had submitted various court orders to show how arrest was not compulsory and that conditions could be put on her while granting her a pre-arrest bail.

On the other hand, Advocate Shailendra Singh, appearing for the tantrik, told the court that his client Gulam Moin Sufi was not a Bengali Baba as alleged by Jaidev and the police.

He told the court that Sufi was a businessman involved in stock broking and transportation. After hearing arguments from all sides, the court allowed applications filed by both Poonam and Sufi.