14 October,2024 01:25 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a 33-year-old man arrested in 2019 in a case of murder and robbery, citing lack of incriminatory evidence, reported news agency PTI.
Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal, in the order on September 25, also called for an inquiry into the five-year delay in committing the matter to trial.
A copy of the order was made available on Sunday.
The case against Armogam Raja, a carpenter by profession, was that he and several other accomplices, armed with weapons including a chopper and knife, murdered Ritesh Dharmanarayan Singh while also committing robbery on March 1, 2014, reported PTI.
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Three other accused were tried in an earlier Thane court session and were acquitted due to insufficient evidence while two others were discharged from the case.
Raja, who had been absconding, was arrested in 2019 and has been since in custody.
The trial saw the prosecution present several witnesses, who testified that Singh borrowed a vehicle on the night of the incident and failed to return it to the accused, reported PTI.
However, the defence pointed out that the witnesses had not provided any incriminating testimony against Raja, leading to lack of evidence supporting the charges.
The Thane court noted that no witnesses testified against Raja during the trial, and the evidence presented did not establish his involvement in the crime.
Judge Agrawal also requested the chief judicial magistrate to "conduct an inquiry as to why the matter was not committed for a period of five years" and submit a report, reported PTI.
A Thane court has acquitted four members of the Irani gang booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a chain-snatching case, saying there was laxity on the part of police due to which the accused were getting benefit of doubt.
Special Judge (MCOCA) Amit M Shete, in the order on October 1, also directed the police authorities to initiate appropriate action against the errant cops.
A copy of the order, which came after a lengthy trial that began with a complaint filed on July 8, 2019, was made available on October 8.
(With inputs from PTI)
