Thane court acquits man accused of throwing children from building

A court in Maharashtras Thane district has acquitted a 33yearold man accused of throwing two children from a building killing one of them reported news agency PTIIn his order on Tuesday Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal said the case against Aasif Shabbir Khan lacked direct eyewitnesses and that it depended on a childs testimony which was inconsistent reported PTIAccording to case papers Khan allegedly threw fiveyearold Sayyad Zohan Hussain and fouryearold Zenab Ansari from the second floor of a building in the Kausa area in February 2023 While Sayyad died Zenab survived reported PTIThe prosecutions case primarily rested on Zenabs testimony and her disclosure to her mother The children reportedly called the accused phatakewala uncle because he had distributed crackers to them during DiwaliHowever Judge Agrawal noted that the case had no direct eyewitnesses and relied heavily on the word of a child witness whose testimony became inconsistent under crossexamination reported PTIThe Thane court pointed out a suspicious delay in reporting the incident and the FIR itself appears to be an outcome of a concocted storyJudge Agrawal also took into account the defences submission that the buildings construction was incomplete and that the children may have fallen accidentally reported PTIThe Thane court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that Khan be released forthwithThane woman brother get bail in case of sexually assaulting her minor sonIn another case a Thane court has granted bail to a woman and her brother arrested on charges of sexually assaulting her 10yearold son reported PTIThe case was registered based on information provided by the father of the victim who lived with his mother at Lokmanya Nagar in Maharashtras Thane city following his parents separation reported PTIThe child was allegedly sexually assaulted by his maternal uncle and mother since 2021The case was registered after the victim contacted a child helpline on July 30 this yearThe boys mother and uncle were arrested on August 7 under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act 2015 reported PTIWith inputs from PTI