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A Thane court has acquitted 10 people accused in a 19-year-old case of rioting and attempted murder of police personnel during a protest, citing vague and insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution.
Additional Sessions Judge, Kalyan, PR Ashturkar, in a judgment dated December 1, said the prosecution could not prove any of the allegations leveled against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
A copy of the order was made available on Monday (December 8, 2025).
According to the prosecution, the protest was held in Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra’s Thane district on November 30, 2006, following an “unpleasant” incident in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh on November 28 that year.
A large number of people had gathered and some of them (accused) created a ruckus, caused damage to private and government property and assaulted policemen and other persons.
The police later registered a case against 14 persons under various sections of the IPC, including attempt to murder, rioting and unlawful assembly, and under provisions of the Bombay Police Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The case against the four accused was reduced due to their deaths during the trial.
The judge said in the order: “It can be seen that there is no evidence of any independent witness. As no identification search was conducted, there is absolutely nothing on record as to how the accused present were identified, even out of a crowd of 2,000 to 2,500.”
“The evidence presented by the prosecution is very general and vague. It is not enough to establish the guilt of the accused persons, even beyond a reasonable doubt,” the court said.
The court also noted that two key witnesses “backtracked” from their previous statements and did not support the prosecution’s case.
Kishor Tarachand Pawar (autorickshaw driver), Milind Damodar Nikam, Nitin Rohidas Bhalerao (both singers), Pankaj Sitaram Baviskar, Sanjay Dhudku Jadhav (businessmen), Parmeshwar Dilip Baviskar, Sanjay Ratan Nikam (labourers), Sunjay Ratan Nikam (labourers), Sunylinterpalak Tamepalija (tailor), Gautam Ramdas Dhivre, who worked, were acquitted in the case. in a private company.
Published – 8 Dec 2025 12:10 PM IST
