Court won’t drop charges against aspiring model
Simran Sood, prime accused Vijay Palande’s wife, claimed there was no evidence against her.
A sessions court on Wednesday refused to drop charges against aspiring model Simran Sood in two murder cases in which her husband, Vijay Palande, is the prime accused.
Sood, 40, and Palande were arrested in 2012 in the murders of would-be film producer Karan Kakkad and businessman Arun Tikku. The police allege that the two men were killed as part of a property-grab plot. Sood was part of the honey trap scheme to lure Kakkad and Tikku’s son, Anuj.
The prosecution opposed her plea, saying the charges had already been framed against Sood, Palande and other accused in the cases, and therefore her application cannot be considered. Any discharge application should be filed before the trial begins. So far, the prosecution has examined two witnesses in the Kakkad murder case.
The prosecution alleged that Sood had used fake names to introduce herself to Kakkad and Anuj, previously an aspiring actor, and to open a bank account. She was in constant touch with Palande when the two murders were committed.
Anuj’s father was found murdered in the family’s Oshiwara apartment on April 7, 2012. It has been alleged that Palande, Sood and their two associates planned the killing to grab the apartment.
After their arrest, Kakkad’s murder came to light. He was stabbed in his flat in Oberoi Springs, Andheri, on March 5, 2012. Property was again the motive. Kakkad’s remains were later found in a ravine in Chiplun.
The charge sheets in the two cases were filed in July 2013. Sood has not been charged with murder in either of the cases.
In her discharge application, filed in January this year, Sood said that charges against her were framed in the absence of her lawyer and without any arguments. She had essentially been denied aproper defence, the application said.
But the prosecution said that Sood was given the opportunity to call her lawyer and that charges were framed only after she failed to do so.
Sood’s lawyer, Shyam Keswani, argued: “The prosecution was sought to be launched against her on mere suspicion. The findings and conclusion in the charge sheet are merely based on imagination. In fact, there is not an iota of evidence against Sood that can lead to securing conviction. Suspicion, however strong, cannot take the place of evidence.”
A sessions court on Wednesday refused to drop charges against aspiring model Simran Sood in two murder cases in which her husband, Vijay Palande, is the prime accused.
Sood, 40, and Palande were arrested in 2012 in the murders of would-be film producer Karan Kakkad and businessman Arun Tikku. The police allege that the two men were killed as part of a property-grab plot. Sood was part of the honey trap scheme to lure Kakkad and Tikku’s son, Anuj.
Sood - who has been charged with conspiracy, forgery and impersonation - sought discharge from the cases claiming that there was no evidence against her and that she had been arrested merely on the “basis of suspicion”.
The prosecution opposed her plea, saying the charges had already been framed against Sood, Palande and other accused in the cases, and therefore her application cannot be considered. Any discharge application should be filed before the trial begins. So far, the prosecution has examined two witnesses in the Kakkad murder case.
The prosecution alleged that Sood had used fake names to introduce herself to Kakkad and Anuj, previously an aspiring actor, and to open a bank account. She was in constant touch with Palande when the two murders were committed.
Anuj’s father was found murdered in the family’s Oshiwara apartment on April 7, 2012. It has been alleged that Palande, Sood and their two associates planned the killing to grab the apartment.
After their arrest, Kakkad’s murder came to light. He was stabbed in his flat in Oberoi Springs, Andheri, on March 5, 2012. Property was again the motive. Kakkad’s remains were later found in a ravine in Chiplun.
The charge sheets in the two cases were filed in July 2013. Sood has not been charged with murder in either of the cases.
In her discharge application, filed in January this year, Sood said that charges against her were framed in the absence of her lawyer and without any arguments. She had essentially been denied aproper defence, the application said.
But the prosecution said that Sood was given the opportunity to call her lawyer and that charges were framed only after she failed to do so.
Sood’s lawyer, Shyam Keswani, argued: “The prosecution was sought to be launched against her on mere suspicion. The findings and conclusion in the charge sheet are merely based on imagination. In fact, there is not an iota of evidence against Sood that can lead to securing conviction. Suspicion, however strong, cannot take the place of evidence.”
