Court relaxes bail conditions of accused in Suraj Parmar suicide case

Vikrant Chavan had said that his discharge of duties as a corporator were being hampered and sought for a modification of the order.

Thane: The district court here has relaxed the conditions imposed on the four accused corporators, who are out on bail in the Suraj Parmar suicide case.

Special Judge V V Bambarde last week ordered that corporators Hanumant Jagdale, Nazeeb Mulla, Vikrant Chavan and Sudhakar Chawan, booked for abetment of suicide in the case, would be required to meet the Investigating Officer(IO) every Thursday between 3-5 PM until further orders.

The court also ordered the IO to return the passports of Najeeb Mulla and Sudhakar Chavan, saying the investigation doesn't warrant detention of passport.

Vikrant Chavan had sought a relaxation on the order passed by the court in April, which prevented him from attending meetings of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

In his application, Chavan said that his discharge of duties as a corporator were being hampered and sought for a modification of the order.

The IO opposed the request stating that a Special Investigating Team(SIT) was formed and investigation was under way.

The IO said the accused might contact the witnesses, most of whom are TMC officers, if a relaxation was granted.

Additional Public Prosecutor Sangita Phad submitted in the court that the accused were not cooperating in the probe.

The court, after hearing both the sides, ordered that "The applicant/accused shall not directly interact or contact or pressurise the municipal officers, who are the witnesses in the matter, except at the meetings."

The judge further said that the IO was at liberty to summon the accused as and when required.

Thane-based builder Suraj Parmar committed suicide by shooting himself dead on October 7, 2015.

In a suicide note, he had blamed the four corporators for the act, accusing them of harassing him for money.