Kolkata, Oct. 16 -- The Calcutta High Court has rejected the bail plea of one Monali Chakraborty alias Monali Das, accused of involvement in an alleged case involving the drugging and robbery of a Tollywood film producer and his driver, citing the gravity of the allegations and the fact that 12 vulnerable witnesses are yet to be examined.
Justice Ananya Bandyopadhyay directed the trial court to expedite the examination of vulnerable witnesses and take necessary steps to ensure their presence, including issuing strict directions to the prosecution and investigating agency, if required.
The case stems from a complaint by Subhojit Mandol, proprietor of Big Screen Production House, which produced the film Bhoi Peyona in 2021. According to the bail petition, Mandol went to an office at 5/7 Netaji Nagar on December 4, 2023, accompanied by his driver, to discuss selling the film to OTT and digital platforms.
The prosecution alleges that the producer and his driver were administered stupefying substances, physically overpowered and deprived of their debit and credit cards. The petition states that they were also confined before being rescued.
Opposing bail, the state argued that Chakraborty allegedly acted as bait to lure people into false criminal cases for wrongful gain. It relied on witness statements, a test identification parade, CCTV footage and other contemporaneous material. The complainant also opposed her release.
Chakraborty's counsel argued that she had been falsely implicated and had spent more than two-and-a-half years in custody. She was not named in the FIR or the original charge sheet and was subsequently arrested following a supplementary report. Her counsel claimed the case was a counterblast to a complaint she had lodged against Mandol, accusing him and others of offences including gang rape.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.