Mumbai: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has asked jail authorities to consider providing police protection to Nagpur-based advocate Satish Uke and his brother Pradeep Uke for their journey home following their release on bail. The special court allowed their plea stating, “Considering the apprehension of danger to their life expressed by the accused,… it is necessary to direct the jail authority to consider the request of accused for providing proper police protection or security to the accused till they reach their home in Nagpur when they are released on bail from the jail.”The brothers are currently in custody in connection with the predicate offence linked to their PMLA case, despite being granted bail by the same court on Oct 7, in the money laundering case due to their long pre-trial incarceration. The ED arrested the duo on March 31, 2022. The money laundering case is based on two separate FIRs registered in Nagpur—one for allegedly grabbing 1.5 acres of land around two decades ago, and the other for allegedly usurping 5.5 acres of land. The predicate, or scheduled offence, is the basis for the money laundering investigations.ED alleged that the accused generated proceeds of crime worth Rs 36.6 crore by illegally grabbing land and creating fake documents. In their plea, the brothers, currently lodged in Taloja Jail and Arthur Road Jail, respectively, submitted that their home in Nagpur is approximately 1,000 kilometres away. They stated that their lives were in danger from their “rival party” as well as from police authorities. The accused previously filed various complaints against the complainant in the predicate offence and against police personnel, including applications under the Criminal Procedure Code for legal action against them. It was also submitted that the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai, previously expressed concern regarding the brothers’ security in letters dated July and March, mentioning the “possibility of danger to the accused while physically producing them in the court.”In the order, special judge RB Rote also referred to a December 2024 observation by the Bombay High Court in a separate matter which stated that the “security and safety of the person facing trial (the accused) would be of paramount consideration.”Despite the special public prosecutor’s ‘say’ on the plea being called for, no official response was filed till the time of the order.
