CBI court acquits former railway pointsman in 2007 bribery case

Thane, Sep 5 (PTI) A special court in Thane has acquitted a former railway pointsman in an 18-year-old bribery case, holding that the prosecution had failed to provide incriminating evidence against him.

In his order of September 2, a copy of which was made available on Friday, Special CBI Judge D S Deshmukh dropped all charges against Shivaji Shripat Mashal.

According to the prosecution, the then station master of Kalyan station, Omprakash Tipanna Ninne, had demanded a monthly bribe of Rs 1,000 from a boot polish contractor. After being alerted by the contractor, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) laid a trap and caught Mashal allegedly accepting the money on Ninne’s behalf on March 2, 2007.

The court held that the demand and acceptance of the bribe were not proved against Mashal, a pointsman assigned to Ninne’s office that day as his regular peon was away. The complainant and Ninne passed away during the trial.

The court examined two prosecution witnesses but held that their depositions did not advance the prosecution’s case.

Judge Deshmukh noted that the CBI itself had filed an application to withdraw the case, citing critical issues. The complainant and the main accused are dead, while there is no reference to Mashal as the bribe receiver in the complaint or CBI’s verification proceedings, the court said.

The prosecution has failed to prove that Mashal had accepted the bribe of Rs 1,000 on behalf of the now-deceased station master, the judge said. PTI COR NR