2018 Thane murder accused acquitted after court finds lack of evidence

While delivering the verdict, the court observed that there were no eyewitnesses to the alleged assault. Representational Pic

A sessions court in Maharashtra's Thane has acquitted a 53-year-old man accused of murdering his friend in 2018, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt, reported the PTI.

Additional Sessions Judge R D Sawant acquitted Sambhaji Haribhau Dhokare of all charges on Tuesday.

According to the prosecution, Dhokare allegedly threw a stone at his friend, Rajesh Chandrakant Kadam, during an argument at a rickshaw stand in Kalwa on January 30, 2018.

The stone reportedly struck Kadam on the head, causing serious injuries. He was later admitted to JJ Hospital, where he died on February 11, 2018.

Court notes lack of eyewitnesses

While delivering the verdict, the court observed that there were no eyewitnesses to the alleged assault.

The judge also pointed out that the prosecution failed to examine the medical officer who conducted the post-mortem examination, making it difficult to conclusively establish that the death was homicidal in nature, according to the PTI.

The court further rejected a statement allegedly made by the deceased while undergoing treatment in hospital.

Judge Sawant noted that the statement had not been recorded before an Executive Magistrate and lacked certification or endorsement from a medical officer. As a result, it could not be treated as a valid dying declaration.

Benefit of doubt granted

Taking into account the shortcomings in the prosecution's case, the court granted Dhokare the benefit of doubt and ordered his acquittal.

The court also noted that the accused had already spent more than five years in prison during the course of the trial before being cleared of the charges, the news agency reported.

Thane man, 3 others held for harassing his wife

According to the PTI, police have arrested a man and three of his family members for allegedly torturing his 26-year-old pregnant wife and forcibly shaving her head over dowry demands in Maharashtra''s Thane district, officials said on Wednesday.

The victim married the accused last year.

Shortly after, her in-laws, residents of the Waldhuni area in Kalyan, started assaulting and starving her for failing to bring the expected dowry.

After the woman became pregnant, her in-laws allegedly burned her hands in hot water and also forcibly cut off her hair, Mahatma Phule Chowk police official said.

Fearing for her life, the victim fled to a relative''s house and was subsequently hospitalised in Ulhasnagar. Based on the victim''s complaint, the police on Tuesday arrested her husband, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and the mother-in-law''s elder sister, the official said. The accused have been booked on charges of dowry harassment under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the police added, the news agency reported.

(with PTI inputs)