Senior Shiv Sena leaders Gajanan Kirtikar and Ravindra Waikar were among 20 people acquitted on Friday in a 1993 rioting case by a special magistrate court set up to hear 1992-93 riot cases.Kirtikar is a former Minister of State (Home) and a sitting MLA while Waikar is a corporator and chairman of the civic Standing Committee. They had been charged with unlawful assembly, inciting violence and making inflammatory statements.Special Magistrate Rajeshwai Bapat-Sarkar acquitted all the accused for want of evidence after the prosecution failed to prove its case. According to the prosecution, on January 4, 1993, a mob of over 50 to 60 people marched towards the Chacha Nagar Masjid in Jogeshwari, shouting anti-Muslim slogans. Later, the mob also pelted stones on the mosque while some Muslim men had gathered there to offer namaaz.Police Inspector I Mane, then attached to the Jogeshwari police station, in his deposition stated that though then Police Commissioner Shrikant Bapat had issued an order against assembly in tense areas, Kirtikar along with several Shiv Sena followers led the morcha. Mane also stated that the police had granted permission for a 'peace rally' that later turned violent after Shiv Sainiks resorted to stone pelting.Altogether, the prosecution examined eight witnesses — four policemen and four eyewitnesses.Public Prosecutor M V Kadam said: “Of the eight witnesses, only one witness stuck to his statement. Our case suffered greatly after the prosecution failed to get the same reply from the witnesses as they had stated to the police during the riots. Even the four independent witnesses retracted their versions in the court.” Kadam admitted that the police could not furnish to the court the station diary — the investigating officer claimed to have lost it during the 15 years after the riots. “Had all these relevant documents been furnished before the court, we could have had a stronger case to present,” Kadam said.All the accused, Gajanan Kirtikar, Ravindra Waikar, Nandkumar Kale, Shridhar Khade, Ragunath Kadam, VHP leader Laltapratap Singh, Avinash Karangutkar, Umesh Rane, Manoj Sharma, Manik Gawde, Sanjay Karangutkar, Ravi Sharma, Kisan Shinde, Pawan Jhodhale, Milind Kambli, Harish Jodhale, Chandrakant Shinde, Anil Sadekar, Anant Singh Padwal, Santosh Jhambekar, were charged under Sections 153, 188, 506 (2), 34 of the Indian Penal Code and 37 (3) read with 135 of the Bombay Police Act for making “inflammatory statements” against the minority community, “inciting violence” and “unlawful assembly” in the notified area.On January 4, 1993, although the police registered a case against 17 accused, it excluded Kirtikar, Waikar and Nandkumar Kale, now with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The 17 accused arrested by the police were later released on bail the same day.The Justice Srikrishna Commission report submitted after the riots said about this case: “On 4th January 1993, a big mob of Hindus led by Shri Gajanan Kirtikar, Shri Ramesh More and other Shiv Sena activists took a morcha to the Jogeshwari police station complaining of lack of security for Hindus. Some of the people in the morcha attacked Chacha Nagar Masjid and the Muslims in the vicinity and injured them.” The case, earlier tried at the Andheri court, was transferred after the state Government set up four special courts to hear riot cases from 1992-1993.
