Death: 3 get one-year RI

According to prosecution,the three accused and the deceased were staying in the same locality of Gautam Nagar in Deonar and often had quarrels among them. On May 29,2008,the accused assaulted Khan with belts and hammer after which he suffered grievous injuries. He later died in the hospital due to the injuries. The police arrested the accused under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

During the trial,the prosecution examined 10 witnesses including five panch witnesses who told the court that the police had made them sign on already-prepared statements. One of the witnesses,who the police claimed acted as a panch when they recovered the hammer used to assault Khan,turned hostile.

Similarly,there were contradictions in the testimonies of the two eyewitnesses – one of them was the complainant in the case. The forensic expert of Rajawadi Hospital,Dr Pravin Bagul who conducted the post-mortem on the body,deposed before the court and ruled out any possibility of the deceased having suffered injuries from belts and hammer,which was the prosecution case. Defence lawyer Jayesh Vithlani said,“The court has just accepted the presence of the accused at the time of the incident. But not accepted the prosecution’s claim that the actual cause of the death was due to the assault by the accused. Since the prosecution could not prove this important fact,the court has set aside the serious charge of murder levelled against my clients.”

Additional Public Prosecutor Sanjay Shuste said,“We tried our best to prove the charges against them,but the court held them guilty of a lesser charge. We might appeal for enhancing the sentence and conviction,” Meanwhile,the defence is also planning to move the higher court. “We will be moving the high court challenging the sessions court order,” Vithlani said.