Kalyan Court Acquits Seven in 2006 Murder Case for Lack of Evidence

Kalyan: The Kalyan sessions court acquitted seven men accused of attacking and killing a man in 2006, citing insufficient evidence. Additional Sessions Judge S. M. Chandgade observed that two key witnesses failed to provide corroborated testimony linking the accused to the crime.The judgment, delivered on Aug 22, was made public on Tuesday. According to case records, Ganesh Marade was attacked with sticks and stones and killed in Shahapur taluka on Feb 13, 2006. The court acquitted Santosh Kadam (46), Sunil Durgude (45), Ganesh Raut (48), Mangesh Durgude (46), Vijay Bagul (73), Shakir Shaikh (50), and Pintya alias Prashant Sarangdhar (52).Another accused, Balu Shipai alias Khardikar, passed away during the trial, leading to abatement of the case against him. The court noted that the prosecution was unable to secure the presence of several witnesses for various reasons, while the two who did testify offered little support to the case."The prosecution failed to prove the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt. Hence, they are entitled to acquittal," the court concluded.