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Court acquits man in 2019 murder case; cites lack of evidence
Court acquits man in 2019 murder case; cites lack of evidence
Thane, A Thane court has acquitted a 33-year-old man accused in a case of a woman's murder in 2019, observing there was hardly any evidence linking him to the crime.
Principal District and Sessions Judge, S B Agrawal, in the order on Monday, acquitted Abrar Mohmmed Aslam Shaikh of charges under Indian Penal Code sections 302 and 201 .
The prosecution alleged that Shaikh murdered a woman at a forest near the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway on January 15, 2019, by hitting her with a stone, after she insisted on marriage and threatened to expose their alleged extramarital affair to his family.
The woman's body was later found in a partially burnt condition in the Ghodbunder village here.
The counsel for the accused, Sagar Kolhe, contested the charges and punched holes in the prosecution's theory.
In his judgment, Judge Agrawal observed that for a conviction based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must prove "all the facts forming a complete chain of circumstances leading to the only conclusion that is in consonance with the guilt of the accused and ruling out every hypothesis that would be in conformity with his innocence."
The court also noted that the woman's husband and daughter both testified that they were unaware of any relationship between her and the accused.
"Thus, there is absolutely no evidence to make out that there was any relation between the accused and the victim, much less as to what had transpired between them pursuant to said relationship as has been attributed by the prosecution," the court said.
It also dismissed the 'last seen together' theory due to inconsistencies and doubts about a key witness, an autorickshaw driver.
The judge noted that he "clearly appears to be a brought-up witness in as much as he is a regular panch of police and vaguely stated about seeing the victim on that night and dropping her in his rickshaw along with the accused."
The crucial link of recovering the alleged murder weapon at the instance of the accused was also found inadequate.
"The stone had no stains of blood and as such, the said recovery is also not of any consequence. The recovery is also from an open space. The clothes also did not have any blood stains," the court said.
Also, evidence regarding a human bite injury mark allegedly found on the accused was not proven.
There was "hardly any evidence that would connect the accused as being the author of the crime," the judge said while acquitting the man.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
