Thane, Jul 2 A court in Thane has acquitted a 34-year-old man accused of assaulting policemen over two years ago, observing that the prosecution failed to establish the charges against him.
Ad-hoc Sessions Judge and Additional Sessions Judge R M Rathod granted relief to Ayodhya Mishrilal Gupta, saying the prosecution did not produce even the basic duty list of the police personnel who were at the spot during the alleged attack.
A copy of the court's order dated June 24 was made available on Thursday.
According to the prosecution, on February 28, 2024, a team from Bhayandar police station in Thane district went to Tiwari Chawl under their jurisdiction to look for a motorcycle theft suspect.
The police claimed that Gupta gathered a mob and punched a police constable and his colleague to prevent them from taking custody of the theft suspect.
During cross-examination, the investigating officer said he had not filed the duty list to prove the police personnel were actually deployed on official duty that day.
The court highlighted discrepancies in the timings and testimonies of the informant. “Evidence of the informant is not found to be trustworthy,” it said.
Furthermore, the medical evidence directly contradicted the police version of cops being punched, the court said.
The judge also took exception to the police completely ignoring independent civilian witnesses in a crowded residential area, relying solely on departmental statements.
“In spite of several people admittedly available on the said spot, no statement of independent witnesses has been recorded by the investigation officer. No reason has been assigned by the prosecution to that effect,” it said.
Holding that the prosecution failed to establish the charges and that the accused was entitled to the benefit of doubt, the court acquitted Gupta.
