Thane court acquits 10 members of gang booked under MCOCA for chain-snatching

A Thane court has acquitted 10 members of the Irani gang facing charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA for chainsnatching giving them the benefit of doubt reported news agency PTISpecial MCOCA court judge Amit M Shete in the order passed on March 16 highlighted significant gaps in the prosecutions caseA copy of the order was made available on WednesdayThe case was pertaining to an incident on February 4 2015 when a woman was robbed of her mangalsutra necklace worn by married women and a gold chain by some motorbikeborne persons while she was on way to a temple in Dombivali township of Thane district reported PTIThe woman could not identify the registration number of the motorbike and the case was registered against unidentified personsThe prosecution as well as witnesses failed to prove the preliminary offence of robbery the Thane court notedIn his order the judge noted that the investigation officer based on three chargesheets booked all the 10 accused even as only two of them were named in them reported PTIThe investigation officer failed to produce on record any previous chargesheets against the other eight accused the Thane court saidThe judge also said the investigation officer has wrongly filed the proposal for invoking the offence under the MCOCA against the other eight accused reported PTIThus in the absence of any positive material the charge punishable under the MCOCA fails the court said while acquitting the 10 accused who are in the age group of 33 to 77 years reported PTIIn another case a court on Tuesday convicted a 42yearold man for driving his wife to suicide over dowry harassment in 2013 and handed him rigorous imprisonment for seven years reported PTIAdditional sessions court judge KR Deshpande acquitted the mother and another female relative of the convict Pramod Bhoir for want of evidence reported PTIThe court at Belapur in Thane district also imposed a fine of Rs 7500 on Bhoir and directed him to pay Rs 6500 of the fine amount to the complainant the victims brother as compensation reported PTIAnother accused in the case and Bhoirs father Dattatreya Bhoir died during the pendency of the trial and the proceedings against him abated reported PTIThe victim Sugandha Bhoir 23 was harassed by the Bhoir family including her husband and his parents after her marriage She hanged herself on November 5 2013 in their house in Navi Mumbai the prosecution told the court reported PTIThe court convicted Pramod Bhoir under sections 304B dowry death and 306 abetment of suicide of the Indian Penal CodeAdditional Public Prosecutor E B Dhamal said five prosecution witnesses were examined during the trialWith inputs from PTI