Court denies bail to man accused of posing as cop and robbing Mumbai restaurant owner

Mumbai, Jan 16 (PTI) A special court here has refused bail to a man arrested for allegedly robbing a restaurant owner in the city last May by posing as a police officer.
Premchand Jaiswal, the accused, has been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The court passed the order on Wednesday.
As per the prosecution, Jaiswal and five others entered the house of Naresh Nayak, owner of Mysore Cafe in Sion area of Mumbai, claiming they were from the Mumbai crime branch.
The men allegedly threatened Nayak, saying he had black money stashed in his house, and took away Rs 72 lakh in cash and some gold coins.
Jaiswal and others were arrested after the restaurant owner filed a police complaint.
Chief Public Prosecutor Jaysing Desai, opposing the bail, argued that seven cases of similar nature were registered against Jaiswal in the past, and hence the application of the MCOCA (which requires history of similar offences) was valid.
Special judge for MCOCA cases B D Shelke rejected the bail plea, noting that prima facie there was evidence to show his involvement in the crime.
"At this stage there is sufficient material showing his complicity in this crime," the court said.
The accused did not satisfy the twin conditions laid down under the MCOC Act for bail -- reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and not likely to commit any offence while on bail, the court held.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)