In a significant judicial decision, the Thane district court acquitted four men previously accused of the 2014 murder of a 29-year-old man, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to link them to the crime. The order, delivered by Additional Sessions Judge D S Deshmukh on September 2, was made public this Sunday.
The accused, Ganesh alias Ganya Nivrutti Rakhpasre (50), his brother Mangesh (42), Sahadev alias Sajya Vitthal Londe (34), and Badal Sadashiv Bodke (38), were charged under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. They faced allegations over the death of Ganesh alias Ganya Sukhdev Abhang, which reportedly followed a heated argument about alcohol in the early hours of April 4, 2014.
Prosecutors claimed that after the altercation, the accused assaulted Abhang, subsequently transporting his body in an autorickshaw to Kalwa railway station where they left him on a bench. However, the defense, led by attorney Sudhakar Parad, challenged the prosecution’s claims, pointing out significant discrepancies in the investigation and questioning the reliability of the evidence presented.
Judge Deshmukh’s ruling highlighted the prosecution’s inability to establish a conclusive link between the accused and the crime. Given the gaps in the evidence and investigative flaws, the court granted the benefit of the doubt to the defendants, resulting in their complete acquittal.
