Accused let off in Sunil Kumar Lahoria case

Mumbai: In a setback to the Mumbai police crime branch, the Bombay high court on Wednesday discharged one of the alleged conspirators in the sensational Sunil Kumar Lahoria murder case,  Sumit Bachewar, a Navi Mumbai-based real estate agent and developer, for lack of evidence. The entire episode of assault on Lahoria was recorded in CCTV camera installed outside office of deceased.

Though the prosecution in the case has produced four dying declarations of the deceased given to his employee and son Sandeep and applicant Bachewar’s name appeared in the fourth dying declaration; however, Justice A.M. Badar in his detailed judgment held that apart from Bachewar’s name appearing in dying declaration and in an alleged statement of assailant there is no other evidence against him in the chargesheet to prove he was part of conspiracy

The case of prosecution is that Lahoria was in habit of lodging several complaints against builders with police apart from initiating proceedings against them in various courts as well as lodging complaints against builders with the office of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the Cidco. According to the prosecution, builders Suresh Bijlani, Anurag Garg, Bhupesh Gupta and Bachwar conspired to kill Loharia.