Thane, Oct 6 (PTI) A court in Thane district has acquitted three persons booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a 19-year-old armed robbery case, citing lack of corroborative evidence.
Special MCOCA judge Amit Shete noted that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against the alleged accused, who needed to be given the benefit of the doubt.
A copy of the order passed on September 25 was made available on Saturday.
The court acquitted Selvaraj Subramaniam Mudliyar (45), Jairam Achhelal Jaiswal (39), and Anil Jasram Chauhan (48). Two other accused died during the pendency of the trial, and the case against them was abated.
The court also discharged another person allegedly involved in the crime.
The men were booked for armed robbery and organised crime under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and MCOCA.
As per the case details, a hotel owner on Kalyan-Nashik Road was assaulted and robbed by armed men on August 1, 2005.
Defence counsels Sagar Kolhe and Haresh Deshmukh contested the charges and punched holes in the prosecution and investigations.
During the trial, the judge highlighted that the investigation failed to collect adequate evidence or secure witnesses, which ultimately compromised the integrity of the case against the three accused.
Judge Shete observed that the informant’s testimony contained discrepancies, particularly regarding the timing of the FIR and the identification of the accused during the test identification parade.
The court directed that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Thane police commissioner to initiate legal action against the officers involved in the investigation. PTI COR ARU
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