MUMBAI, May 9 -- The Bombay High Court has denied bail to Chetan Dilip Paradhi, an accused in the murder of former minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ziauddin Abdul Rahim, also known as Baba Siddique, observing that there was prima facie evidence against him which showed his involvement in the alleged conspiracy and revealed his membership in the organised crime syndicate. Relying on the embargo under section 21(4) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which bars courts from granting bail to accused unless they're satisfied that the accused are prima facie not guilty and unlikely to commit any offence when released on bail, a single judge bench of justice RM Joshi on Thursday said Paradhi's criminal antecedent rendered the court to reject his bail application. In his plea before the high court, Paradhi claimed that there was no sufficient evidence of his involvement in the killing and the prosecution was merely relying on call detail records (CDRs), which showed he was in touch with several co-accused who were already known to him socially. This, he said, could not be treated as incriminating evidence. Additional public prosecutor Arfan Sait opposed Paradhi's bail, saying the confessional statements of the co-accused, along with witness statements and CDRs, showed his involvement in the crime. Baba Siddique's widow Shehzeen Siddique appeared as an intervener in the matter. Senior advocate Abad Ponda and advocate Anas Shaikh, representing Shehzeen, contended that the confessional statement of the co-accused clearly indicated that Paradhi had knowledge of the crime. The court held that the "overall evidence collected during the course of the investigation prima facie shows the conspiracy being hatched in order to eliminate the deceased". Considering the prima facie evidence, the court disposed of the matter....