Thane court acquits man in traffic cop assault case

Thane, Nov 12 (PTI) A Thane court has acquitted a man accused of assaulting a woman traffic constable on a road in 2023, citing inconsistencies in the prosecution's case and insufficient evidence.

The prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the accused, Aniket Bhagwan Jadhav (24), beyond a reasonable doubt, Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal said in the judgment on Tuesday.

The case stemmed from an incident on June 21, 2023, where Jadhav allegedly hit traffic constable Sangeeta Suryakant Kamble (Dhutade) at Kapurbavdi Circle in Maharashtra's Thane city, and also verbally abused her after she photographed his motorcycle for a helmet violation.

Jadhav was charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant), 504 (intentional insult), and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Defence counsel Sagar Kolhe punched holes in the prosecution's case.

The court said, "At the outset, it would be apposite to mention that although the incident took place on a busy signal, except the informant (constable), her associate and a rickshaw driver, no other witness has been examined by the prosecution, and in order to attract section 353 of IPC, it is necessary to bring about the assault and use of criminal force." The judge noted a critical gap in the informant's testimony regarding the physical assault "In fact, this witness does not speak about any assault or criminal force and vaguely states about the accused abusing her," the court observed.

The testimony of the traffic warden, who claimed the accused slapped the constable, was disregarded because it contradicted the informant's own account.

"It is to be noted that the informant herself has not stated about slapping her in her evidence and as such, the testimony of this witness cannot be said to be believable," the court said.

It also noted that the investigation officer admitted that no challan for traffic violation was issued to the accused, nor did he seize the photograph allegedly taken by the informant.

"Considering all the aforesaid evidence, it cannot be said that the prosecution has been successful in bringing home the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt," the court said while acquitting the man of all charges against him. PTI COR GK