• The four suspects are to face, the prosecution says extortion, and conspiracy to defeat justice and interfering with witnesses.
• According to the prosecution the attempted extortion charges were occasioned by the four suspects namely Shah, Meghji, Bhavsharu, and Rawal.
Image: FILE
A Nairobi court has issued a warrant of arrest against four city businessmen to face criminal charges of threatening to harm another trader.
Milimani senior principal magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot issued the arrest order against Ashok Rupshi Shah, Meghji Patel, Nilesh Bhavsharu, and Mukesh Rawal following an application by senior state prosecutor Kennedy Panyoko.
Earlier the complainant Pareshkumar Keshavji Dodhia, through his lawyer Kennedy Wanyanga, had filed an application under a certificate of urgency before the same court seeking orders to have the four suspects arrested and charged with among other charges attempted extortion, being in possession of Narcotic drugs and being in possession of public stores.
According to the prosecution the attempted extortion charges were occasioned by the four suspects namely Shah, Meghji, Bhavsharu, and Rawal who jointly and severally on occasions used the firearm of Hiji Ramji Patel who is accused person in alleged extortion and threatening of Dodhia.
Dodhia is a complainant in a separate criminal case.
Other charges the four suspects are to face, the prosecution says include extortion, and conspiracy to defeat justice, and interfering with witnesses.
In the first case, Hirji Ramji Patel alone has been charged with attempting to extort Sh10 million from Dodthia.
Patel is a senior operations manager of Astrol Aviation at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
He has also denied being in possession of items which include one walkie-talkie make Baofeng, one Czeska pistol, two empty magazines for Czeska pistol, one Hytenra walkie Talkie, one firearm certificate for him Patel and walkie Talkies make Bestore, Bageng among others.
Patel who is being represented by Lawyer David Oyatta has since denied charges of attempting to extort Sh10 million from Pareshkumar Keshhavji Dodhia as a pre-condition for helping him to settle an alleged assault case by one Dimple Sumariya dismissed.
He has also denied charges of being in possession of narcotic drugs (cannabis Sativa) and being in possession of public stores.
He is accused of being in possession of government stores namely one smoke military jacket, one pair of handcuffs, one bullet-proof vest which property is suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.
The prosecution alleges that on July 17, 2020, at Parklands Road within Westlands sub-county during his arrest, the accused was found to have 27 rolls of Cannabis sativa of street value of Sh2,160 which was not in medical preparation form.
The magistrate directed the case to be mentioned on March 8, for further orders.