Searched for son, went to police station, ‘inconsistent with guilty conduct’: Why a Mumbai court cleared a man accused of killing his toddler

The police arrested Ansari the next day after the boy’s body was found in a nearby creek, dumped in a white gunny bag in Dharavi. The police claimed that Ansari was in an extramarital relationship with the co-accused and was instigated into killing the child.

“…the consistent evidence of multiple prosecution witnesses shows that accused No.1 (Ansari) actively participated in searching for the deceased and did not attempt to abscond, which is inconsistent with guilty conduct,” Additional Sessions Judge A P Kulkarni said in the order passed on February 10. The court said that there was also no evidence to show that the accused was having an affair, with no independent witnesses or Call Data Records to substantiate the claim.

“On the contrary, the conduct of Rehmatali (A-1), as spoken to by multiple witnesses, shows that he actively searched for the deceased, accompanied others to lodge a complaint, and rushed to the spot upon discovery of the body,” the court said.

The police had claimed that the accused was seen carrying a white gunny bag in a recording captured on a CCTV camera. The forensic report, however, said that the identity of the person in the CCTV could not be established. Ansari’s lawyer Gaurav Bhawnani also submitted that the footage could not establish that he was the perpetrator in the case, as a witness had said that the usage of such gunny bags was common in the area.

“It has also come on record that white gunny bags are common in the area and multiple persons were seen carrying similar bags, and no blood or mud stains are visible on the person in the footage,” the court said. The footage shows Ansari showing a photograph of his son to a shopkeeper, indicating he was looking for his son, the court noted.

The court said there were other irregularities in the probe and that mere suspicion or conjecture cannot substitute for proof.