The District and Additional Sessions Court, Malegaon. (Pic: The Voice of Malegaon)
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Shyamkant Bhalchandra Bahalkar yesterday granted bail to Mehreen Abdul Malik who has been accused of murdering 14-month-old Arsalan, son of her husband Rihan with his first wife Naseemussaher. The court asked the accused to furnish a P.R. bond of Rs 50,000 with a surety of like amount. It also directed the accused to report to the police station concerned everyday between 11am to 1pm for the next 60 days or till filing of the chargesheet or whichever is earlier.
Senior advocate Azeem Khan assisted by advocate Tauseef Saleem defended the accused and pointed out before the court that since day one there were certain lacunae in the case.
As per the FIR, on March 23 this year the accused allegedly gave the infant some unknown poisonous substance to eat or drink. As a result, the infant got seriously ill and started throwing up profusely. Thereafter, he was rushed to four different hospitals, two in Malegaon and two in Nashik. However, on March 25 the child succumbed while undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital, Nashik.
While allowing the applicant’s bail plea, the court took into consideration several facts of the case, circumstances and materials that were placed on record.
The court observed, “The C.A. report is awaiting. At present, the Investigating Officer has recorded statement of important witness – Mohammad Amar, who states nothing against the applicant. Thus, there is no material to show that the applicant has administered any poison to deceased Arsalan and he died due to poisoning.”
From the material placed on the record it appears that the alleged incident of poisoning occurred on 23.03.2024 and the said boy Arsalan died on 25.03.2024, however, FIR came to be lodged on 01.05.2024. Thus, there is delay of more than one month in lodging FIR. It also appears that only witness – Mohammad Amar informed the informant that on that night the said boy Arsalan was taken to the house of the applicant, the informant got doubt that she must have administered poison to her son Arsalan. It is not mentioned in the FIR that witness Mohammad Amar disclosed the informant that on that night, the applicant gave something to eat or drink to her son Arsalan, the court observed.
The court also pointed out that it appears that only because the informant was not at good terms with the applicant, she got doubt that the applicant must have administered poison to her son Arsalan. “Thus, only on suspicion, the applicant has been implicated in this crime and she is arrested,” the court observed. The court further said that nothing remained to be discovered or recovered from the present applicant.
A brief history of the case
After the infant was laid to rest on March 25 in Malegaon, the Azad Nagar Police on informant’s report registered an ‘Unnatural Death’ case as the death was under mysterious circumstances. Thereafter they started an investigation under Section 174 of the CrPC. PSI Rajendra Koli was conducting the probe but in the meanwhile the story of Arsalan’s murder surfaced. This theory was in a way supported by the report of Inquest Panchnama conducted on the child in Nashik after his death on March 25. The police officer who had conducted the IP doubted that some poisonous substance must have been given to the child.
The accused was arrested on May 1 by the Azad Nagar Police after they filed a case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code on the informant Naseemussaher’s report given after a gap of thirty eight days. She was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) N. R. Bhalgat. The court had granted the police PCR till May 4. After that, she was sent to the jail in MCR.
