22 December,2020 10:42 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan Khan
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The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested two persons for threatening a witness in a drugs case to give deposition in favour of the accused, on the behest of a gangster. The gangster, Harish Mandvikar, sent hand-written chits to his associate from inside Mumbai Central Prison at Arthur Road, instructing him to coerce the witness. Mandvikar is serving life sentence for murder at the prison, states a press release by ATS.
The arrested accused were identified as Sujit Padwalkar and Sachin Kolekar alias Pintu.
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In June 2015, ATS had busted a drug racket involved in the manufacture of Mephedrone (MD) and had arrested seven people from Lokhandwala complex, Andheri. Total 155 kg of raw and finished contraband of the banned substance was seized from the unit. The main accused in the case, Sajid Electricwala, is presently lodged at the Arthur Road jail. He could not avail bail in the case since his arrest in 2015 despite several attempts, states the ATS release.
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An important witness in the case from Kandivali was scheduled to give deposition before the court in November 26, 2020. However, a week before the case, he was threatened by one Sujit Padwalkar to give false evidence in favour of Electricwala. The witness approached ATS Charkop unit. The officers swung into action and caught Padwalkar red-handed while threatening the witness again.
Padwalkar revealed the role of Kolekar, an associate of Mandvikar. Kolekar was also arrested and during interrogation he revealed that Mandvikar had sent him a handwritten note from inside the jail asking him to threaten the witness. Mandvikar and Electricwala had hatched the plan to coerce the witness from inside the jail. Subsequently, Kolekar asked Padwalkar to put pressure on the witness.
As per the release sent by ATS, Mandvikar had also sent chits to his henchmen to do his bidding on previous occasions. Mandvikar and Electricwala were also booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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