A sessions court recently granted bail to a man who was arrested for running away with a scooter that was put on sale on an online classifieds marketplace.
A sessions court recently granted bail to a man who was arrested for running away with a scooter that was put on sale on an online classifieds marketplace. The accused had contacted the victim for buying the vehicle after seeing the advertisement and after finalising the deal, sought permission to bring money from his sister’s house. He then allegedly used the same scooter to fetch the money but ran away with the vehicle without making the payment.
The accused, Harun Shaikh, a resident of Govandi, was arrested nine months later by the Byculla police when he sold the stolen scooter to another person. The buyer had gone to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to get the vehicle registered in his name. However, he found out the vehicle was not registered in the name of the seller and it was a stolen vehicle
The prosecution’s case is that the complainant, Mohammed Aslam, had put an advertisement on OLX to sell his scooter and the accused contacted him on October 4, 2015. Both the parties met and after examining the scooter, Shaikh agreed to buy it. However, he told the complainant that he had not brought the money but could bring it from his sister’s house right away. He also got permission from the complainant to allow him to use his scooter to fetch the money, as it would save time. But he did not return after leaving with the vehicle.
When Shaikh did not return for a long time, the complainant realised that he had been cheated and his scooter had been stolen. He duly lodged a police complaint.
The police could not make any headway in the case but later the accused sold the same scooter to a third person. When the buyer found that the vehicle was not registered under Shaikh’s name, RTO officers cross-checked details. They found out that it was a stolen vehicle and a complaint in this regard was registered with the Byculla police.
Following this, the officials called the original owner i.e. complainant, who identified his vehicle. The police later arrested Shaikh on June 7, 2016 under section 420 of the IPC. They also arrested Shaikh’s sister.
The trial court granted bail to Shaikh’s sister but refused to release Shaikh on bail. Shaikh approached the sessions court and contended that he has been falsely implicated in the case.
His lawyer argued that there is no antecedent against him. It was also argued that the vehicle is recovered and investigation into the case is complete, so there is no need to keep him in custody.
On the other hand, the public prosecutor opposed the bail plea saying the applicant is a habitual offender, he has no permanent place of residence and shifts to different places at different times and there are chances of him fleeing away and not facing the trial.
There are also chances of the accused tampering with the evidence and threatening witnesses if released on bail, he said.
After hearing arguments, judge P.R. Bhavake granted Shaikh bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000.
