Uttar Pradesh man ‘caught’ at Taj Hotel with live bullet acquitted

The incident took place at the entrance gate of the Taj Hotel, in February 2016

The 33-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh, who was arrested in 2016 after a live bullet was found in his bag during a scan at the Taj Hotel, has been acquitted by the additional chief metropolitan court.

The court, which acquitted Mohammed Furkan on January 5, released the detailed order on Tuesday. It stated that the prosecution failed to prove their case. The defence claimed that Furkan was falsely implicated to save the image of the hotel, which faced its deadliest terror attack in 2008. His lawyer Sunil Pandey has also alleged that it was an NRI guest at the hotel who was carrying the seized bullet.

Furkan told mid-day that his life has been destroyed because of the crime he never committed. "I have nothing to say about this. I know only the trauma I suffered in the past six years. My career was spoiled. I didn't get a job because of the police case," he said.

Furkan, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh was in Mumbai and on February 6, 2016, he had gone to Taj Hotel for an interview for a job in Saudi Arabia. "I didn't know how the bullet came in my bag. I belong to a poor family that's why nobody trusted me at that time. Now the truth is out," he added. He was in jail for a week following his arrest.

The case

The complainant in the case is Jagdish Vetorkar, a security officer of Taj Hotel who was at the entrance gate on February 6, 2016. In his statement to the Colaba police, he said that about 10.50 am the accused came and put his bag in the scanner and entered the hotel. One Atulkumar Mishra, who was in the scanner room, stopped the bag as he spotted a bullet-like item, it stated. They checked the bag and spotted the bullet, and informed the police. Sub Inspector (SI) Karkar arrived and they all went to the police station, where SI Yash Borse searched the bag and found an 8-mm KF bullet, passport and clothes.

As per the court's order, during cross-examination, Vetorkar denied the allegation that the security manager was not informed about the incident. Mishra told the court that the accused did not give satisfactory explanation, and during cross-examination, he testified that he had not taken a screenshot of the scanned baggage. The panch witness of the case, Narendrakumar Mistri, told the court that he signed on the panchnama as told by the police. "He stated he had not seen the passport and the bullet. In his cross-examination, he admitted he assisted the police whenever required," the order stated.

It added, "If considered the evidence of above discussed witnesses, it appears that the same is of no use to the prosecution so as to prove the guilt of the accused for which he is charged. Because, the person in presence of whom the bullet was seized, i.e. Narendrakumar, had declined to state anything in respect of seizure of bullet from the bag of the accused. Therefore, it cannot be said that the alleged bullet was possessed by the accused and the same was seized from his possession. The prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the accused for which he is charged. Therefore, he is entitled for acquittal." The court has also directed that the bullet be sent to the district magistrate Mumbai for its disposal as per the law, after the appeal period is over.

"My client was falsely implicated in the case in a bid to save an NRI guest and also the reputation of Taj Hotel. The entire case collapsed on Day 1, as there was no screenshot of the scan. Also, no CCTV camera footage was given to the police and there was no sanction under Section 39 of the Arms Act from the competent authority, which is mandatory. The court highlighted this as well in its order," Pandey told mid-day. "Since the life of my client is ruined because of the false implication in the case by the prosecution as well as the hotel staff, we will seek compensation and an action against them," he added. The Taj Hotel did not respond till the time of going to the press.