A special MCOCA court in Thane has acquitted six individuals, including a former corporator, in a high-profile extortion and assault case, citing significant lapses in evidence and procedural errors by the prosecution. The judgement was delivered on January 1, offering the defendants the benefit of doubt due to these inadequacies and inconsistencies in witness testimonies.
The case, initially registered in 2022 at the Mahatma Phule Chowk police station in Kalyan, involved accusations of extortion, attempted murder, and participation in an organized crime syndicate. The defendants, including Satej alias Bala Suresh Pokal, a 30-year-old construction contractor, Sachin Samsan Khema, a 44-year-old former corporator, and four others were alleged to have demanded ₹5 lakh from a mobile shop owner, threatening him with severe consequences if he failed to comply.
The prosecution’s case hinged on the claim that the accused had assaulted the complainant and his friends with weapons, inflicting serious injuries. However, the court, presided over by Special MCOCA Judge Amit M Shete, found multiple flaws in how the prosecution presented its case.
Key issues highlighted by Judge Shete included the substantial delay in submitting seized articles to the Forensic Science Laboratory, which took place three months post-seizure. This delay raised concerns over the potential tampering of evidence, significantly weakening the prosecution’s arguments.
Moreover, the court noted that the witnesses, including the complainant and those injured, provided inconsistent accounts that failed to convincingly implicate the accused. The witnesses could not maintain their narratives or assign specific roles to the accused, undermining the credibility of their testimonies.
Additionally, despite submitting chargesheets from previous cases to prove the defendants’ involvement in organized crime, the court deemed this evidence insufficient. The prosecution also failed to produce crucial witnesses, including officers who had recorded confessional statements, further eroding the strength of their case.
One notable aspect was the confessional statement from accused Satej Pokal, which, although not retracted, was deemed inadequately substantiated to support a conviction for the serious charges levied under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and MCOCA.
