Four of the six accused in the murder trial of British national Stephen Bennett, who was found dead in Roha in December 2006, were granted bail by Bombay High Court on Monday.
Picking holes in police investigation, Justice VC Daga held that the witness’ statements did not concur with the medical officers’ reports, and granted bail to Nathuram Mohite, 35, Kashinath Marathe, 40, Raja Malsure, 32, and Ravindra Dalvi, 41. All four had been in custody since December 14, 2006.
The four accused moved the HC after Alibaug Sessions Court rejected their bail plea in June 2007. Their application stated that police were making them scapegoats, despite the prosecution’s failure to attribute any motive that would have implicated them in the case. Their advocate Kuldeep Patil argued that the medical evidence placed on record too did not support the prosecution’s case.
Bennett’s body was found hanging from a tree on December 10, 2006, in Malsai village near Roha. Police alleged that he was murdered and then his body was hung from a tree to conceal evidence and make it look like a suicide.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Madhavi Mhatre argued that there was an eyewitness, Narayan Mohite, who actually saw the accused hanging Bennett’s body from the tree with the help of a sari.
Post mortem reports indicated that Bennett sustained a head injury and had ligature mark on his neck. Patil argued that the final report of the medical officer, which stated that Bennett died of asphyxia which resulted from strangulation, was at variance with the witness’ statement.
Moreover, the clothes Bennett was last seen in on December 7, as testified by another witness, were different from those that he was found dead in. The application also quoted a press statement made by Bennett’s brother Paul, who said, “The entire investigation is suspicious and faulty”
