Upset Over Bail Plea Hearing, 4 Complainants Drink Poison In Gujarat Courtroom

Four persons, complainants in a cheating case, tried to commit suicide by drinking phenyl at the Gujarat High Court here on Thursday as they were apparently upset over the court entertaining pre-arrest bail applications of the accused, police said.

They were rushed to a hospital and the condition of all four was stable, said an official.

Shailesh Panchal (52), his wife Jayshriben (50), Hardik Patel (24) and Manoj Vaishnav (41) tried to kill themselves by consuming phenyl, which is harmful to the human body, in the court of Justice Nirzar Desai when the hearing was going on, said inspector Jignesh Agravat of Sola police station.

They were aggrieved as the court was entertaining anticipatory bail pleas of the general manager of Colour Mercantile Co-operative Bank and two others against whom they had filed complaints for allegedly siphoning off loan amounts, he said.

The court had earlier granted the accused persons interim protection from arrest.

The incident caused commotion in the courtroom and Justice Desai left the court. The police personnel on duty took Mr Panchal and others to a nearby government hospital, inspector Agravat said.

Mr Panchal, his wife, and the other two had lodged complaints against loan consultant Chintan Shah, general manager Kinnarbhai, and manager Atul Shah for forgery, cheating, and criminal breach of trust at Anandnagar police station in Ahmedabad.

The four had approached the bank for loans that were duly sanctioned, but the accused allegedly siphoned off the amounts by forging documents, as per the complaint.