Six cops get lifer for custodial deaths in two separate cases

One case belonged to the death of an accused in police custody at Umarkhed police station on May 24, 1998 while another case was at Pusad rural police station on April 23, 2000.

The names of the convicted cops were given as Babarao Khandare (API), Shiva Mishra (ASI), Nagorao Sontake and Ganesh Raneet (Constables) all from Umarkhed Police Station (Accused in Muneshwar custodial death) and Uttam Chavan (PI) and Nazir Ahmad (constable) from Pusad in Tarachand Pawar's custodial death.

The court acquitted 25 out of 29 accused in Muneshwar murder case and eight out of ten accused in Tarachand Pawar's murder case.

According to the prosecution, one Uttam Muneshwar, a resident of village Amboda was arrested from the Umarkhed bus station by the police on the suspicion of a theft of a mixer grinder on May 24, 1998. The cops kept him in custody and he died during interrogation.

Though the cops tried to hush up the matter, they did not succeed as parents of the deceased moved the Bombay High Court requesting for a CBI enquiry which was subsequently ordered.

The CBI filed the FIR against 29 accused in Khaki.

In the second case, police at Pusad Rural Police Station had arrested one Tarachand Pawar on the charge of theft on April 23, 2000. He died the following day (April 24) in custody during the interrogation.

The investigation into the case was handed over to the state CID led by Inspector Mukund Kevale who after completing the investigation, filed the FIR against 10 accused in khaki and arrested them.

The trial of both the cases was simultaneously done before the Additional District and Sessions Judge Anil Subramanniyam of Pusad which declared its verdict today.

The court held all the six cops guilty under section IPC 302 (Punishment for murder) and sentenced them to life imprisonment. All the accused were in Magisterial custody and brought to the court today at the time of delivering of the judgement.