<p>A <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/thane-court-acquits-6-men-booked-under-mcoca-for-extortion-assault-cites-lack-of-evidence-lapses-23458051" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Thane court</a> has acquitted a 48-year-old film art director in a 2018 case of attempted murder, citing discrepancies in the evidence presented by the prosecution, reported news agency PTI.</p>
<p>Sessions judge Amit M Shete passed the ruling on January 9, acquitting Sushant Niranjan Panda.</p>
<p>Panda was accused of attacking Arvind Ramratan Singh, the complainant, with a steel cutter on July 1, 2018, causing him injuries in the neck which required hospitalisation, reported PTI.</p>
<p>As per the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/thane-court-acquits-10-accused-in-2016-murder-case-after-investigation-flaws-23452144" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">First Information Report</a> registered by Mira Road Police in the district, Singh and Panda had a late-night altercation over the strained relationship between Panda and Singh's daughter, reported PTI.</p>
<p>The complainant's daughter had been in a live-in relationship with the accused, the FIR said.</p>
<p>During the trial, the Thane court noted contradictions in witness testimonies, particularly that of the complainant's daughter whose account suggested that the altercation took place in the residential society's common area and not inside Singh's flat, reported PTI.</p>
<p>The Thane court also criticized the prosecution for not examining crucial witnesses such as the society's watchman and the complainant's brother.</p>
<p>The prosecution failed to establish the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the court held.</p>
<h2>Thane court acquits six men booked under MCOCA for extortion, assault</h2>
<p>A Thane court acquitted six persons, including a former corporator, who were booked under the stringent <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/murder-accused-throws-slipper-at-judge-in-thane-court-booked--23452096" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act</a> (MCOCA) for allegedly extorting and assaulting a mobile shop owner, citing "lack of evidence" and "procedural lapses" by the prosecution, news agency PTI reported.</p>
<p>The special court hearing MCOCA cases in Thane district delivered the judgment on Wednesday, giving the accused a "benefit of doubt" for the above reasons as well as for "unreliable testimonies" of witnesses, reported PTI.</p>
<p>In 2022, a first information report (FIR) was registered at the Mahatma Phule Chowk Police Station in<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-crime-news/article/rbi-governor-shaktikanta-das-s-tenure-comes-to-end-here-s-all-you-need-to-know-about-his-successor-sanjay-malhotra-23443395" target="_blank" rel="none noopener"> Kalyan</a>. The accused were booked for extortion, attempted murder and involvement in an organised crime syndicate.</p>
<p>The accused have been identified as Satej alias Bala Suresh Pokal, 30; former Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation corporator and construction contractor Sachin Samsan Khema, 44; Nitin Samsan Khema, 41; agriculturist Prem Haribhau Chaudhari, 33; Tohit alias Bablu Majid Shaikh, 24, and construction supervisor Ganesh Vilas Rokade, 29, PTI reported.</p>
<p><strong>(With inputs from PTI)</strong></p><p>
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