Kolhapur: The Bombay HC’s Kolhapur bench has approved bail to Chandrakant Shelke, a 73-year-old murder accused, stating that the circumstantial evidence gathered by the prosecution prima facie failed to establish a seamless chain of events.Shelke was arrested in connection with the murder of 70-year-old Mohan Powar, who was found dead with his throat slit on Sept 4, 2025, at his residence in Hanuman Nagar in Kolhapur city. Neighbours found smoke coming from the house. The flame of ‘samai’ (brass oil lamp) set fire to the clothes, whether it was deliberate to cover up the murder or happened while the deceased was struggling for life, is not known yet.The police said Shelke, a friend of the deceased for decades, was captured in CCTV footage gathered from the surroundings. The police also claimed they recovered blood-stained articles from the accused and that the accused confessed to the crime before the police.During the hearing of the bail application, the lawyer of the accused claimed the entire case was based on circumstantial evidence, and there were no independent witnesses to establish the offence. The accused has been in custody since the crime had taken place. The prosecution maintained that the CCTV footage obtained indicated the complicity of the accused and, given the heinous nature of the crime, demanded rejection of the bail application.Justice Sachin S Deshmukh stated in the order that apart from CCTV footage, prima facie, there were no independent eyewitnesses to the alleged incident. “Moreover, there is nothing on record to establish the motive or intent of the application of the commission of the alleged crime. Therefore, the CCTV footage cannot be made the sole basis to withhold the liberty of the applicant and in any case genuineness of the same can be subject to matter of trial,” the order stated.Before passing the order allowing bail to Shelke on a personal bond of Rs 50,000, the court noted, “It is pertinent to note that the prosecution has gathered certain circumstantial evidence, such as the alleged recovery or the presence of the applicant at the spot of incident, however, the same has prima facie failed to establish a seamless chain of events.”
