Thane court acquits three in constable assault case

A Thane court has acquitted three men accused of assaulting and intimidating a police constable in 2018, ruling that the prosecution’s case was doubtful and the investigation officer suppressed the fact that the cop was himself under the influence of liquor.

The defence of the accused that they were assaulted by the constable and other witnesses seems to be probable, Additional Sessions Judge GT Pawar said in the order on Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, constable Navnath Sadashiv Thorve, the informant in the case, stopped a motorcycle at Yeoor Gate in Maharashtra’s Thane city and found the riders drunk on March 2, 2018, when the Holi festival was being celebrated.

When their vehicle was seized, the accused allegedly hurled abuses and slapped the informant, the prosecution said. However, the medical evidence turned the case. The court observed that the medical officer testified that the informant was heavily intoxicated during his examination.

From perusal of the evidence, it seems that the investigation officer intentionally collected an incomplete medico-legal case report by omitting the fact that at the time of examination, the informant was under the influence of liquor, the court said. “He was not answering the questions put to him and was talking irrelevantly, and his central nervous system was disoriented,” it noted.

“Hence, the entire prosecution story seems to be doubtful and the defence of the accused that they were assaulted by the informant and witnesses seems to be probable,” the court said.

It also noted that the police failed to produce any breath analyser reports, could not explain the injuries sustained by the accused, and presented contradictory eyewitness testimonies, rendering the allegations completely unbelievable.

The court then acquitted Mujaram alias Rambhau Bapurao Yenkure (40), Sunil Ganpat Rokade (40), and Balu Bapurao Yenkure (36).