17 January,2024 01:48 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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A Thane court in Maharashtra acquitted three people accused of a murder that occurred about eight years ago, underlining flaws in the investigation. In his January 9 order, Additional Sessions Judge Amit M Shete chastised the investigative officer for failing to collect sufficient evidence, especially when the accused willingly surrendered to police, stated a report in PTI.
According to the news agency report, Rajesh Sukhlal Kurekar (35), Viru Surendra Sing (29), and Santosh Ramnath Jinwal (31) were involved in a dispute with Monu on December 14, 2014, which resulted in Monu's death on the same day, according to Additional Public Prosecutor S B More.
While the prosecution relied on the last-seen-together argument and the accused's confessional testimony, the defence, led by counsel S S Butala, questioned the legitimacy of the prosecution's account, the report added.
The court found that the confessional statement and the last-seen-together scenario lacked support. The court criticised the investigating officer for insufficient material collection, particularly after the accused surrendered, and concluded that there was no incriminating evidence against the trio. As a result, the court gave the accused the benefit of the doubt and acquitted them, PTI report.
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Meanwhile, a metropolitan magistrate in Mumbai acquitted five persons of a Ganesh mandal, accused of negligence, after a four-year-old died in the Colaba area in 2019. The Cuffe Parade police had booked and arrested the accused, alleging their involvement in the incident where a Ganpati Visarjan trolley fell on the young girl.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the Cuffe Parade police had filed bogus witnesses and conducted the panchnama at the police station rather than at the incident location. After careful review, the court dismissed the case against all five accused: Rajesh Meher, Ravindra Meher, Vinod Tandel, Ketan Tandel, and Avinash Tandel, all of whom are residents of Bhandarkar Machhimar Vasahat Colaba.
The father of the deceased girl stated that the arrested individuals were innocent and that the incident was a regrettable accident. He said that the arrests were done under political pressure on police. The court's verdict acknowledges the accused's innocence in this unfortunate tragedy.
