Thane, Jan 7 In a setback for prosecution after 13 years of trial, a court acquitted six men, alleged to be NCP workers, of a brutal 2012 assault on a social worker linked to the Thane civic body polls in the absence of "impartial evidence" against them.
The case stemmed from political rivalry during the 2012 municipal corporation elections. The victim’s wife was contesting as an independent candidate, while the accused were alleged activists of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Tensions reportedly arose over the setting up of an election booth in January 2012.
The acquittal verdict was delivered by the Principal District and Sessions Court Judge S. B. Agrawal on Tuesday.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on June 17, 2012, under the jurisdiction of Kapurbawadi police station.
The complainant, Ronald Anthony Issac, alleged that the accused—Anand Ganpat Salve, Ganpat Punaji Salve, Gautam Govind More, Santosh Sagar Bansode, Amol Jija Kamble and Santosh Bhiva Vetkar—conspired to kill him and attacked him with swords, slitting his throat with a hexablade and causing severe injuries that required 28 stitches.
Advocate Rajan Salunke, appearing for the defence, challenged the prosecution’s version and the credibility of its witnesses.
Judge Agrawal observed that several purported eyewitnesses were unlikely to have actually seen the assault. He further observed that most witnesses were either friends, employees, or politically affiliated with the informant.
The court also found fault with the recovery of weapons, noting they were seized from locations "accessible to the public" and that the accused’s disclosure statements were "cryptic.”
The judge remarked that the evidence suggested "over-implication" and that the true genesis of the incident had not been fully brought on record.
While acknowledging that an assault had occurred, as supported by medical evidence, the court held that the prosecution failed to establish the involvement of the accused as alleged.
All six were consequently acquitted of charges including attempted murder (Section 307), criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), and rioting.
