Thane court acquits all three accused in rape-murder of woman in 2021

Thane, Nov 13 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra’s Thane has acquitted all three accused in the robbery, rape and murder of a woman four years ago.

Pronouncing the judgment on Tuesday, Principal District and Sessions Judge of Thane, S B Agrawal, said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the trio.

According to the police, a woman was robbed of her jewellery, raped and killed at her home in the Bhayander area in July 2021.

While one of the three accused persons, a relative and a former employee of the victim's husband, was additionally charged with rape, the other two accused were tried for murder and robbery.

Defence counsels MZG Sheikh, SC Chavan and Sagar Kolhe contested the charges, pointing to "holes" in the prosecution theory.

After hearing both sides, the court held that the prosecution had failed to establish a “complete and unbroken chain of circumstances necessary to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt in a case based entirely on circumstantial evidence”.

The court said nothing has been brought to establish the “involvement” of the accused in the crime. “In fact, this was an important link and probably the fundamental link which was required to be established by the prosecution,” the court said.

The court expressed strong doubts about the disclosure statement and subsequent recovery of stolen articles.

It also said that the testimony of the goldsmith regarding the sale of ornaments was also deemed unproven, as the items sold did not match the informant's account.

Regarding a forensic science laboratory report indicating the semen of one of the accused on the victim’s clothes, the judge found the evidence compromised due to failure to prove proper handling and identification.

The court held that the prosecution had failed to “meet the required standard of proof in a circumstantial evidence case, which demands that the facts proved form a complete and unbroken chain leading only to the inference of the accused's guilt”. It then acquitted all three accused. PTI COR NR