A convict in the 2002 Gulbarg society massacre case, who had jumped the temporary bail granted to him in December last year, surrendered before a special SIT court here on Monday. Kailash Dhobi is one of 11 persons convicted for murder and other offences. He is listed as accused number 1 by the SIT in the Gulbarg society case ,in which 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed.
“Kailash Dhobi was evading arrest, after jumping bail. He is named as accused number 1 and is convicted of murder and other offences. Today, he surrendered before Special SIT Judge PB Desai,” special public prosecutor RC Kodekar said. The convict has been sent to judicial custody.
Meanwhile, the special SIT court on Monday said that it would pronounce the quantum of sentence for 24 convicts in the Gulberg Society massacre case on Friday.
Dhobi, who was arrested in 2002 and was behind bars for 14 years, was granted temporary bail in December last year by the High Court on health grounds and subsequently given two extensions. However, he jumped the temporary bail granted to him by the Gujarat high court and disappeared early this year.
As per his bail condition, he was supposed to surrender before the jail authorities on January 29 this year, after his plea for a third extension was turned down by the High Court on January 25.
Dhobi had dramatically jumped the bail after writing a letter to the Gujarat high court, in which he had promised to return on the day the special court would pronounce its judgement. However, he did not surrender when the court had on June 2 convicted 24 people in connection with the case.
Kodekar had argued before the court while making submission over the quantum of sentence that since Dhobi was not present, the court could not pass sentence on him under provisions of Section 426 of the CrPC for absconding convicts, which requires a convict to be present in court when the sentence is pronounced.