Thane district Court in Maharashtra has acquitted five individuals who were accused of assaulting and killing a man in a village within the Bhiwandi taluka.
Additional Sessions Judge P M Gupta, in his order determined that the prosecution failed to establish the charges against the alleged accused, who were residents of Payegaon village.
As per the prosecution’s account, the alleged accused assaulted Sadanand Devlikar with iron rods and knives at approximately 7 am on July 9, 2011. The victim sustained severe injuries and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The judge, in the order dismissed the testimony of the victim’s widow, citing it as unreliable. He observed that the crime was reported to the police nearly two hours after its occurrence, despite the fact that the informant and other prosecution witnesses possessed mobile phones and could have contacted each other to share information about the incident.
The court concluded that there was no immediate motive for the accused individuals to commit the crime, leading to their acquittal.
