Five villagers from Dahanu taluka of Palghar district who were tried in connection with the brutal murder of a 20-year-old youth from Bhiwandi and allegedly dumping his body in a river, were found not guilty and acquitted by Thane District Judge M M Walimohammed.
In a judgement delivered yesterday, the judge held that the prosecution miserably failed to prove charges levelled against the accused beyond reasonable doubt and hence they have to be set free.
The public prosecutor told the court that on February 4, 2012, at about 11.30 pm, the five accused men had killed Deoram Narayan Chilpat (20), who worked in a godown in Bhiwandi's Dapode area.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused tied his body with a rope, dragged it to the Durga river and dumped it in to the river.
It also stated that the victim used to frequently intrude into the huts of workers and molest young girls who had come along with the accused men to work in the region's brick kilns.
Allegedly, when the victim had fled after molesting a teenager girl, he was chased by the accused who attacked him with sticks and stones, which killed him, the prosecution had told the court.
The five men were tried under Section 302, Section 201, Section 147, Section 148 and Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code.
However, none of these charges were proved by the prosecution against the accused.
Appearing for the defence advocate P S Mahimkar argued that the accused were falsely implicated and they had no role whatsoever to play in the incident.
He also said that since all allegations against the five men were totally false and frivolous, they should be set free.
Villagers who were acquitted of the charges include Rahu alias Raghya Ladkya Pilena (45), Gangaram Hasar Sutar (36), Aanya Sitaram Mor (27), Kailash Sadu Kadam (21) and Vishnu Pandurang Dawala (35).
