A local court yesterday rejected the bail application of Preetii Jaiin, arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill film director Madhur Bhandarkar, because of the seriousness of her offence.

Additional Metropolitan Magistrate A.V. Shete rejected the bail plea on the grounds that the offence was a grave one and had to be therefore tried exclusively in the Sessions Court.

He also said that the police were still in the process of investigation.

On the application of the Mumbai Police wanting to further interrogate Preetii, who is in judicial custody and kept in the Arthur Road jail, the magistrate said the police could go to the jail to interrogate her provided it was done according to the convenience of the jail authorities and Preetii.

Preetii's advocate Nilesh Pawaskar appealed to the court to consider her bail on the basis of certain provisions made in the Indian Constitution which allowed the court to use its judicial discretion towards elderly, frail or sick women.

Defence counsel Pervez representing Naresh Pardesi, former aide of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who was hired by Preetii to kill Bhandarkar, argued that his client did not have any criminal record and there was no question of him not being available for any investigation or tampering with the evidence, an issue raised by Public Prosecutor V.U. Malu.

The prosecutor said that Preetii's accusations against Bhandarkar of raping and making threats to her were imaginary and such imaginary grounds were not acceptable for bail. Moreover, "the law does not allow for liberty of a person when another's life is in danger."

Both the prosecutor and the police representative Manasi Mohite pleaded against bail for Preetii since, according to them, it could not be ruled out that she would try to get Bhandarkar killed again if she is out on bail.

"She is well-educated and very clever and if let free, she is capable of doing anything," said Mohite. "She was not co-operative with the police during investigation," she added.

The advocate for the accused told the magistrate that the police were indirectly seeking police custody and this was illegal.

"They have already had enough time, why do they need to interrogate further," said Pervez.

MURDER PLOT
Held on charges of criminal conspiracy

Starlet Preetii Jaiin was arrested on charges of entering into a criminal conspiracy to murder film director Madhur Bhandarkar, police said.

Jaiin, is alleged to have connived with an aide of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli.

She had earlier filed a police complaint against the film director, charging him of sexual exploitation.

Jaiin allegedly paid Rs70,000 [Dh5,830] as part payment to one of Gawli's aide in last two months, police had said