Thane court acquits eight in police constable attack case

Eight men accused of the attempted murder of a police constable in Thane have been acquitted after the court cited lack of identification and hostile witnesses, raising questions about the prosecution's case.

A court in Maharashtra's Thane has acquitted eight men charged with the attempted murder of a police constable, citing the victim's inability to identify his attackers and the fact that key prosecution witnesses turned hostile.

In her judgment delivered on April 6, Additional Sessions Judge V L Bhosale gave the benefit of doubt to the accused, observing that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. A copy of the order was made available on Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, constable Bhaskar Sonavane was assaulted with sticks and beer bottles outside a bar in the city's Upvan area on April 21, 2016. The attack was a fallout of a dispute between the hotel management and a customer named Kamlesh, whose brother Arun led 10-15 persons to the site, it said.

Sonavane, who was at the spot to meet an informant, suffered a skull fracture and brain injuries in the attack, the court was informed during the trial.

The eight accused persons had been facing charges for attempted murder under the Indian Penal Code.

Key Evidence and Court's Reasoning

The court noted that the constable himself could not identify "any of the accused as the assailants, since the incident occurred at nighttime and he lost consciousness after being struck on the head".

Additionally, the hotel partner Rajesh Shetty and manager Naveen Gouda, who was the original complainant, both turned hostile, the judge noted.

"Having regard to all the evidence on record, I find that the prosecution has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons charged in this case committed the offences," said the court, acquitting all the accused.