Court acquits 3 accused of extortion bid, conspiracy to kill man in Thane

Thane, Mar 11 (PTI) A court in Thane has acquitted three persons accused in a case of attempt to extort money from a man and conspiring to kill him, citing lack of substantial evidence against them.

Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal, in the order on March 4, said the prosecution failed to prove the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

A copy of the order was made available on Monday.

The prosecution alleged that between December 5, 2021 and March 20, 2022, the accused, all from Shanti Nagar in Mira Road area of Maharashtra's Thane district, hatched a conspiracy to extort Rs 25 lakh from man (the complainant in the case), threatening him with dire consequences.

The accused had been tracking the man's movements, gathering information about his residence, office and vehicle, and sending it to their associates via WhatsApp.

They also allegedly received two pistols and live cartridges as part of the criminal conspiracy.

However, they were apprehended by the police's Anti-Extortion Cell before they could execute the plan, the prosecution said.

The defence counsels contested the prosecution's version and challenged its probe on various grounds.

During the trial, the court highlighted the lack of conclusive evidence linking the accused to the crime.

Forensic reports failed to establish that the accused were responsible for the crime. The video footage and photographs also did not clearly identify them, and no evidence confirmed that they had personally contacted the complainant, the court said.

The court also noted the prosecution failed to prove that the seized documents, SIM cards and USB drives belonged to the accused or were used in committing the offence.

No direct evidence linked the accused to the demand for extortion or conspiracy to commit murder, the court said.

Hence, the court acquitted the three persons - Mohmmed Arafat alias Guddu alias Sayko alias Chikna Arif Lokhandwala (40), Shakir Umardin Mansoori (46) and Javed Umardin Mansoori (40). PTI COR GK