Shivangi Prakash-
Published on: August 20, 2021, at 11:35 IST
A Local Court in Mumbai has acquitted a 58-year-old man 29 years after he was charged with murder, citing shaky evidence.
In December 1992, a guy named Rajendra Khade, a Goregaon resident, was found slain in his flat. He was found dead with 65 injuries inflicted with a knife.
The evidence in the case, according to the judge, could have been fabricated. Suresh Jamsandekar, a Bhandup native, was apprehended in May after three decades on the run.
“On the basis of doubtful evidence, the Court can not come to the conclusion that the guilt of the accused is proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” quoted the judge as saying.
In a second trial in 2004, the Court acquitted four other defendants. The Court stated throughout the trial that an accused’s ‘admission of guilt,’ which was later acquitted, cannot be used against a co-accused unless it is backed by rational evidence.
The Court further stated that the accused Vijay Jadhav’s confession is shaky and cannot be trusted.
The Court went on to say that the prosecution’s fabrication of fake evidence in the form of a statement throws doubt on their credibility.
The watchman witnessed blood streaming out of the main door and realised Rajendra had been murdered. He then contacted the police, who filed a FIR at the Goregaon police station. The victim was thought to have been killed at the house during a robbery. The gold was eventually found at a gold shop.
During the trial, ten witnesses were called, including the watchman, a jewellery store employee, and the victim’s brother.