Thane court acquits duo 6 years after recovery of fake notes with face value of Rs 200

Thane, Sep 4 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra’s Thane has acquitted two businessmen six years after two fake notes with a face value of Rs 200 were recovered from one of them, pointing to inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case.

Additional Sessions Judge V G Mohite on Wednesday dropped all charges against Iftiyar Sherkhan Khan and Ashraf Aslam Shaikh, residents of Ghatkopar in Mumbai, holding that crucial evidence was lacking.

According to the prosecution, Khan bought a cigarette at a paan stall in Thane on November 4, 2018, and handed a Rs 100 note to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper raised an alarm, claiming that the note was counterfeit.

While Shaikh escaped, Khan was caught and another currency note with Rs 100 face value was recovered from him, resulting in a police case against both men.

However, the court highlighted several inconsistencies, despite a report from the Currency Note Press in Nashik confirming that the notes were bogus.

The court said the shopkeeper was a “material witness”, but his testimony could not be recorded as his whereabouts were unknown. There is no eyewitness to the incident of handing over the fake note, it said, adding that the testimonies of police witnesses concerning their arrival at the scene were contradictory “This contradictory evidence shows that police are hiding the real incident and (have) put forth the story as alleged in the FIR,” the judge observed. He also found the witness identification of the accused to be unreliable.

The court acquitted the two men, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. PTI COR NR