Thane court acquits undertrial accused of assaulting jail staffer

Thane, Jun 9 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted an undertrial charged with attacking a staffer at the central jail in 2019.

Thane district additional sessions judge GT Pawar noted that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges under sections 353 (assault on public servant) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code against the alleged accused, Sameeruddin Mehamudan Mohammad Khan.

A copy of the order dated May 30 was made available on Saturday.

The prosecutor told the court that on June 2, 2019, a prisoner had picked up a quarrel with another inmate and abused and assaulted him in the Thane central jail.

Khan and another inmate joined the fight, in which four inmates were injured.

Three jail personnel intervened and settled the dispute, and later a case was registered against Khan and three others.

As Khan was behind bars for more than four years, the chargesheet was separately filed against him alone, and the trial was separated from the other accused by an order dated January 5, 2024.

The prosecution examined five witnesses during the trial.

The judge noted that the witnesses in the case had failed to identify the accused before the court.

The prosecution has failed to bring any material on record to show that the accused, along with the other accused, was involved in the alleged quarrel or assaulted the jail staffer, the court held. PTI COR MVG ARU