An Indian businessman, who allegedly jumped bail seven months after being released by the court, was detained in custody on Tuesday.
Viral Jitendra Amritlal Pattni is charged with the offense of obtaining Sh 2 million by false pretenses and had initially been released on bail.
He was brought to court under a warrant of arrest, seven months after he disappeared from court proceedings.
Pattni was charged in January with obtaining Sh 2,375,000 from an unsuspecting businesswoman on various dates between January 1 and February 20, 2023, by falsely pretending that he would supply her with two Tanzanite diamond rings, a Tanzanite bangle, Tanzanite earrings set in gold, and two Morganites.
He was also accused of issuing a bad cheque amounting to Sh 570,000 to the woman shortly after defrauding her.
Although he was released on bond, he vanished and jumped bail several times, leading to the forfeiture of the bond and the issuance of a warrant of arrest.
He was arrested in Parklands and arraigned in court today, where the prosecution opposed his release on bail pending the hearing and determination of the case.
The prosecution informed the court that Pattni was brought in under a warrant of arrest issued in February, where his cash bail was forfeited by the court.
“While he was absent from court, an advocate who represented him appeared in court and tended to mislead the court regarding the accused person’s absence by producing medical documents from Kenyatta National Hospital. These same documents were later disowned by the hospital, which stated that the documents never originated from them,” the court heard.
The prosecution further submitted that the right to bail is not absolute and can be limited by this honorable court, and they believe they have demonstrated reasonable grounds for denying bond to the accused person.
The case will be mentioned on August 22, when the court will rule on whether it will release the accused person on bail or not.
