High Court grants anticipatory bail to accused in Chalisgaon firing case

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to Swapnil Golu, a resident of Tukaramwadi, Jalgaon, in the Chalisgaon firing case that triggered fear among residents earlier this year.

In January, unknown individuals pelted stones and fired gunshots near a school in Chalisgaon around midnight. Police suspected it was an act to intimidate Sumit Bhosale, an accused in the murder of former corporator Mahendra More alias Balu. During investigation, police seized a pistol from Ankit Balu More and a sickle, dagger, and live cartridges from Sanket Balu More’s house. Separate cases were filed against both by Chalisgaon city police. As panic spread locally, the then SP M. Rajkumar had already externed Thakur and his aides from Jalgaon district for two years, citing rising public fear. Thakur has nine serious criminal cases against him, including dacoity, assault, weapons possession, and firing. Arguing Thakur's case, advocate Bhushan Mahajan told the court that since Thakur had already been externed, he couldn’t have been present at the crime scene. The court accepted the argument and granted him anticipatory bail.