‘No proof of tip-off’: Mumbai special court discharges studio owner in 2023 MCOCA case involving gangster’s death

Utekar, who was first named as a witness, was then made an accused, with the police claiming that an accused’s interrogation had revealed that he had informed them about the gangster’s location.

Utekar, through his lawyer Prashant Pawar, had said that there was no proof of his involvement — the statement of the co-accused against him was not recorded, no call data records were collected, nor was any other proof of his being part of the organised crime syndicate given. The police had opposed the plea, saying that there was evidence to frame charges against him.

The court said that the investigating officers admitted that the call records and confession statement of the co-accused were not brought before the court as evidence, and no proof was shown to claim that Utekar had tipped off the others about the gangster’s visit to the studio. The court said that Utekar also had no other case against him.

“It is appropriate to mention that in the prior approval order passed under MCOCA, the name of the applicant/accused (Utekar) is not mentioned as an accused. In the ‘panchnama’, dated 11.01.2024, he is shown to be one of the witnesses. Thereafter, he is shown to be an accused in this crime. Considering all the above aspects, I conclude that there is no sufficient ground for proceedings further against the applicant/accused,” special judge N R Pradhan said.