Mumbai: Siddhant Ganore, main accused in the murder of his mother Dipali, will be represented by a retired police officer in court on Friday. Dhanraj Vanjari, who retired four years ago as Assistant Commissioner of Police, has been practising since.
Siddhant was picked up from Jodhpur by a Mumbai Police team on May 24 in connection with the case. On May 22, Dipali was found stabbed to death at her Kalina residence by her husband, PI Dnyaneshwar Ganore, who is posted at Khar police station. Siddhant allegedly killed his mother and wrote a confession in her blood before going on the run.
Siddhant, who was arrested on May 25 after he allegedly confessed to Dipali's murder, was produced in the Metropolitan Magistrate's court in Bandra and was remanded in police custody till Friday. The police will produce him in court on Friday for an extension of custody.
Mr. Vanjari said, “I am currently in Nagpur for a case and will not be present personally in court on Friday. However, my colleagues will argue on Siddhant's behalf, and we will seek bail. Many people asked me why I am taking up this case and I told them that a lawyer's job is not to free an accused but to help the court reach a verdict and to ensure a fair trail. That is all that I am doing.”
The retired cop was in the limelight after 26/11, when he was posted as Senior PI in-charge of the Cuffe Parade police station.
Mr Vanjari had written a scathing letter to his superiors saying he had personally provided inputs about suspicious ships off the Badhwar Park sea face from where the 26/11 attackers entered the city, which were ignored.
Meanwhile, officers investigating the murder said Siddhant, during his interrogation, has detailed all the arguments he had had with his mother over the years, and said frustration had been building up for a while. “Siddhant has not cried even once in custody. It’s disturbing to see him answer our questions calmly,” an officer at Vakola police station, where the case has been registered, said.
