Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today dismissed appeals filed by former Maharashtra MLA Suresh alias Pappu Kalani and three others against a sessions court verdict convicting them in a murder case.
The division bench of justices S C Dharmadhikari and Anil Menon dismissed the appeals, saying the court did not find anything perverse in the verdict convicting them for conspiracy and murder of Ghansham Bhatija.
Bhatija was shot dead at Ulhasnagar in neighbouring Thane district on February 27, 1990. His brother Inder Bhatija, who saw his brother being gunned down, was shot dead on April 28, 1990 despite having police protection.
According to the police, the murders were fall-out of a long-standing political and criminal rivalry.
Ex-Ulhasnagar MLA Kalani, Bacchi Pandey, Baba Gabriel and Mohammed Asrat, all of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court, had filed appeals.
While Kalani was convicted for criminal conspiracy, the three others were convicted for both murder and conspiracy in November last year.
Kalani was president of Ulhasnagar Municipal Council and MLA of Congress at one time. Later he floated his own party.
Kalani’s lawyer, advocate Ganesh Gole, said, “Since the court has dismissed the appeals, the remedy available to our client now is to move the Supreme Court.”
