MCOCA court in Maharashtra's Thane acquits six persons in 2006 dacoity case

Representative Image. Pic/iStock

Six persons were acquitted by a special MCOCA court in Maharashtra's Thane district in a 2006 dacoity case.

Seven persons were accused of entering the house of a security agency owner on June 15, 2006 armed with a revolver and choppers and looting jewellery and cash totalling Rs 1.21 lakh. One accused had died during the trial, PTI reported.

In his order of May 10, the details of which were made available on Thursday, Special Judge (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) AN Sirsikar acquitted six persons citing that the prosecution had failed to prove charges under the Indian Penal Code and MCOCA.

The accused are from Thane, Beed district, and Borivali in Mumbai, as per the prosecution.

The prosecution has failed to establish the identity of any of the accused in commission of dacoity, and therefore, no offence under provisions of MCOCA is proved against them, Judge Sirsikar said in his order.

Meanwhile, Police in Thane has arrested five persons who allegedly tried to sell a 20-day-old boy, an official said on Thursday.

Also read: Two Russian nationals allegedly 'forced into sex trade' rescued from Maharashtra's Thane; one person arrested

Those arrested include the mother of the infant and a 61-year-old doctor, Thane Crime Branch Unit I senior inspector Dileep Patil told PTI.

"We received a tip off that a woman doctor from Ulhasnagar was selling infants to needy couples. We verified the tip off through a decoy customer. On May 17, the doctor told the decoy customer there was a 20-day-old boy who he could adopt for Rs 7 lakh," he said.

"She was held while collecting money in her hospital. The other accused include two women from Nashik, a man from Belgaum in Karnataka and the child's mother, who is also from Nashik," Patil said.

They have been charged under Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and further probe into the child selling racket and activities of the accused is under way, the official said.