Right to Information Act (RTI) came to the rescue of NCP leader and member of Parliament Padamsinh Patil who has been accused of murdering Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar and conspiring to kill social activist Anna Hazare.
Patil, who was recently released on bail, used RTI to show that he was not living in the bungalow where co-accused Parasmal Jain claimed to have met him to accept the murder contract in January 2006.
Jain, in his confessional statement before the CBI and a magistrate, had said in January 2006 he and another arrested accused Satish Mandade met Patil in his official bungalow 'Royal Stone' to take up the contract to murder Nimbalkar.
However, Patil furnished a letter obtained through RTI, which said that he had vacated the bungalow in March 2005 after he ceased to be a state minister. This contradiction has been mentioned in the order of the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court while granting bail to Patil in the case lodged against him by Hazare.
Patil's lawyer VR Manohar argued before the high court that the statement made by Jain is not prima facie trustworthy and has no credibility. "Jain was not telling the truth in his confession. How could he have met Patil at the Royal Stone bungalow in January-February 2006 when Patil had vacated the residence in March 2005," Manohar said.
According to CBI officials, Jain had led the officers to the bungalow and told them he had met Patil there along with Mandade in January 2006.
According to Jain's confessional statement, when he was waiting in a room at the bungalow, Patil came over and asked his name. When he introduced himself, Patil gave him a stare and went inside with Mandade.
Patil was arrested on June 3 this year based on Jain's confession that he had killed Nimbalkar at the NCP leader's behest for a sum of Rs30 lakh.
Nimbalkar and his driver were shot dead on June 3, 2006 at Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai. According to the CBI, the motive behind the murder was political and business rivalry.
In his statement, Jain mentioned that he was also asked by Patil to kill Hazare, which he refused to do.
