A court in Mumbai’s neighboring Thane district has acquitted three persons accused of a theft in 2008 and charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), giving them the benefit of doubt, news agency PTI reported.

Special MCOCA court judge Amit M Shete, in the order passed on November 1, held that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the three accused - Shabbir Haroon Shaikh (34), Mahesh Anand Hegade (44) and Aana @ Anwar Rashid Shaikh (30).