Agencies
NAGPUR, Mar 21: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday denied bail to a Jammu and Kashmir resident, accused of being a Jaish-e-Mohammed operative and conducting a recce of the memorial of RSS founder Dr K B Hedgewar here. Raees Ahmed Sheikh Asadulla Sheikh was arrested in 2022 for allegedly conducting a reconnaissance of Dr Hedgewar Smruti Mandir, the memorial of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder, located in the city's Reshimbag area, on September 15, 2021.
He had moved the HC earlier this month seeking bail citing lack of evidence. A division bench of Justices Nitin Suryawanshi and Pravin Patil rejected the bail plea. A detailed copy of the order will be available later. Sheikh is currently lodged in Nagpur Central Jail. As per prosecution, Sheikh had also allegedly planned to conduct a recce of the RSS headquarters located in the Mahal area of the city but couldn't do so. It is alleged that Sheikh passed on information, after conducting the recce, to his handler in Pakistan.
In the bail plea filed through advocate Nihalsingh Rathod, Sheikh had claimed that there was no evidence to prove he was conducting a recce of the places concerned for any unlawful activity. Sheikh's activities do not fall under the purview of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), his lawyer argued in the court.
Government pleader Devendra Chauhan told the court that there was ample material to show that Sheikh was associated with the banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
His activities were in furtherance of a future terrorist attack and therefore it would be covered under the definition of a terrorist act under the UAPA, he said.
"The purpose of the act (recce) was not to wait till the outcome of the final action, but even preparatory actions are held as terrorist acts," he said.
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