09 December,2016 05:23 PM IST | | Samiullah Khan
Prosecution fails to pin man who was arrested for killing colleague in 2010 near Madh jetty
A man who was arrested for murdering his colleague six years ago, has been acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove his role in the crime. Dindoshi sessions court released accused Rahul Ravi Das in the murder of Kamal Sardar due to lack of evidence.
The case dates back to December 2010 when Sardar's body was found near a creek in Madh jetty creek with his face crushed with a heavy stone. The Malwani police arrested Das a day after the body was discovered.
The prosecution had built its case based on the statements of seven witnesses, including the investigating officer. The prosecution had claimed that Das had travelled with Sardar from the Versova jetty to the Madh jetty, after which the two drank beer. The crime was committed soon after, the prosecution claimed.
However, defence counsel Anand Pande, who appeared for Das argued that the prosecution had failed to prove that the accused had travelled with Sardar. During cross-examination, the investigating officer also admitted neither were any boat tickets recovered from the deceased, nor any beer bottles found at the spot of the crime.
Further, the sailor whose boat was used for the alleged crime had not been taken through the customary grind of an identification parade, before narrowing down on the accused.
After hearing the arguments, additional sessions judge Dr Khwaja FM observed, "None of the witnesses corroborated the description of the clotÂhes worn by the deceased on the day of the homicide. This raises doubts as to whether the clothes, which were sent to forensics department, were actually worn by deceased."