Thane court acquits 12 in murder of jewellery shop employee

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A Thane court has acquitted 12 persons allegedly involved in the murder of a jewellery shop employee two years ago, observing that the prosecution could not prove the charges against them, reported news agency PTI.

In his order, the Additional Sessions Judge AS Bhagwat gave the benefit of doubt to the dozen accused, who had also been booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A copy of the Thane court order dated June 14 was made available on Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, victim Krushna Padaram Tusamand (30) was a sweeper in a jewellery shop in the Bhayander area, reported PTI.

On May 7, 2022, the shop owner and other accused tied Tusamand to a window and brutally thrashed him on suspicion of theft. Tusamand died due to the assault, the prosecution said.

On a complaint by Tusamand's father, the police booked the jewellery shop owner and 11 others for murder, reported PTI.

While advocates Rajan Salunke and Sameer Hatle who represented the accused contested the charges pressed against their clients, 12 prosecution witnesses turned hostile during the trial, reported PTI.

In his order, the judge relied on Tusamand's post-mortem report, which said that the injuries suffered by the victim might have been due to a fall from a moving vehicle, to give relief to the accused, reported PTI.

Pointing to gaps in the prosecution's theory, the Thane court said it could not prove the seizure of the weapons from the accused, while one of the investigation officers was not examined. The prosecution also could not prove that the victim belonged to the SC or ST category, the court said.

In another case, a court in Maharashtra's Thane district has rejected the bail application of a 32-year-old doctor arrested for allegedly raping a woman after promising to marry her, reported PTI.

Tampering of evidence is possible in case of grant of bail during pendency of the investigation, it said.

"Hence, to my mind, looking at the stage of the investigation, seriousness of the offence and facts of the case, no case for grant of bail is made out," Additional Sessions Judge Premal S Vithalani said in the order on June 11, a copy of which was made available on Tuesday, reported PTI.

"Every bail application needs to be decided by considering facts and circumstances of the particular case. There cannot be a straitjacket formula while granting or rejecting bail applications," he said.

As per the prosecution, the doctor and the 27-year-old woman became friends in 2017 and he proposed marriage in 2020.

She approached police in April 2024, following which an FIR was registered against him for rape and criminal intimidation, reported PTI.

On April 24, the court rejected the pre-arrest bail plea of the doctor and he was arrested on May 7.

The prosecution opposed the doctor's bail plea, alleging he exploited the informant under the false promise of marriage and used threats to coerce her into sexual relations, reported PTI.

The court reviewed the evidence, including mobile phone records and an audio recording submitted by the informant's counsel.

(With inputs from PTI)