Six robbers freed for lack of proof in Mumbai

A Sewri fast track court on Thursday acquitted six persons accused of robbing couples at knife-point at the Bandra Bandstand. The prosecution lost the case as the complainant and his friend, who was a witness, did not turn up to depose in court.

Ad-hoc additional sessions judge SY Kulkarni acquitted the six accused — Joginder Gopal Rana, Mushtaq Alam Ajmal Khan, Mohammed Yunus Shaikh, Qayyum Abdul, Sameer Hamid Khan and Mansoor Inamul Shaikh — for lack of evidence.

The complainant, Kartik Kawale, filed a case at the Bandra police station on June 12, 2009. He alleged that six unidentified persons had robbed him of Rs4,500 and his cellphone while he was sitting with a friend at the Bandstand. The robbers also took away his wallet which contained his ATM card.

“Nine witnesses were examined. However, Kawale, an IIT-Kharagpur student, failed to turn up. His friend, who was a witness, also did not turn up,” defence lawyer RG Gadgil said.
Similar incidents of robbery had been reported earlier. The accused allegedly had little difficulty in robbing the couples at knife-point as most of them avoided crowded spots in their quest for privacy.

On October 26, 2009, the crime branch of the Mumbai police succeeded in arresting the six accused in the case. Later, they were charged in another case reported on June 16 last year, in which they allegedly stole a woman’s gold earrings and chain at knife-point.