Prosecution fails to trace victim, Mumbai court acquits man accused in 34-year-old kidnapping case

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A court in Mumbai has acquitted a 62-year-old man accused of kidnapping a businessman in 1989 as the prosecution failed to trace the victim as well as other witnesses in the case and prove the charges against him, reported news agency PTI.

According to PTI, additional sessions judge Sunil U Hake acquitted the accused, Abhay Uskaikar, who was out on bail, of all charges in the order passed on May 17.

The prosecution had examined three witnesses and in spite of repeated issuance of summons, the prosecution could not secure the presence of other witnesses, the court said.

Uskaikar was facing trial for offences punishable under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 365 (kidnaping) and 392 (robbery).

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As per the prosecution, Uskaikar along with three others, armed with weapons, kidnapped businessman Mohammad Reza Hussain in a car in April 1989 from Colaba area of south Mumbai and they forcibly obtained the latter's signatures on a partnership deed, reported PTI.

The charges in the case were framed by the court in November 2022 and the trial began in March this year.

The court said there is no evidence on record to show that Uskaikar hatched a criminal conspiracy along with the three absconding accused.

There is also no evidence to show that Uskaikar in furtherance of a common intention with the absconding accused kidnapped Hussain and committed extortion, it said.

"The prosecution could not secure the presence of other witnesses. Matter is quite old. The informant (complainant) and Hussain could not be found on the given address. Therefore, the evidence for the prosecution is closed," the court said, reported PTI.

The prosecution failed to prove all the charges levelled against Uskaikar, the court said while acquitting him.

The trial against the three other accused in the case will continue, it added.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday a sessions court in Mumbai has acquitted a 22-year-old student who was arrested for setting afire the premises of another court and causing damage to the property, observing that the prosecution failed to prove the case against him.

In his order passed last month, Additional Sessions Judge A A Kulkarni let off Omkar Pawar and said the prosecution had claimed that the alleged incident occurred in broad daylight but it did not examine any witness who might have seen the accused at the spot.

"In such circumstances, I am of the opinion that evidence of prosecution is not sufficient to conclude that prosecution has proved that accused set fire in the premises of Girgaon court and caused damage to the property," the court said.

As per the prosecution, the assistant superintendent of Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Girgaon, had on June 19, 2021, received a call about a fire on the premises.

The fire destroyed certain areas of the building, including the cash section and the video-conferencing unit, said the prosecution.

The Girgaon police began a probe after the assistant superintendent filed a complaint.

CCTV footage of the spot showed a person moving suspiciously.

Later, police received information from a hospital about a patient with burn injuries, leading to the arrest of Omkar Pawar in relation to the arson.

(With inputs from PTI)