Murder Case: Thane Court Sentences Four Individuals to Life Term

A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has sentenced life imprisonment to four individuals in connection with murder of a builder in 2015. District Judge and Additional Sessions Judge P R Ashturkar at Kalyan court convicted the four for various offenses, including murder, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence under Indian Penal Code sections 302, 120B, and 201, respectively.

The victim, Ganesh Mania Chavan (36), a resident of Davdi village in Dombivli town, had extended a loan of Rs 2 lakh to one of the accused, Santosh Chavan. When Santosh Chavan avoided repaying the loan, the builder was murdered on September 26, 2015, while conversing with friends near a hospital in Davdi village, according to the prosecution.

A total of seven individuals were accused in the case, and the court convicted four of them—Santosh Bhimsingh Chavan (34), Kumar Bhimsingh Chavan (42) (both brothers), Ramesh alias Dattu Gopal Pawar (40), and Swapnil Uttam Padval (32). Each was fined Rs 14,000. An auto-rickshaw driver, another accused, was acquitted due to the benefit of doubt granted by the court.

Of the remaining two accused, one has been absconding since the incident, while the other, released on temporary bail, remains untraceable. Additional Public Prosecutor Kadambini Khandagale mentioned that 21 prosecution witnesses were examined to establish the charges against the accused.