Mumbai court acquits Chhota Rajan in trade union leader Datta Samant murder case
Mumbai, Jul 28: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here on Friday acquitted gangster Chhota Rajan in a case related to the 1997 murder of trade union leader Datta Samant for want of evidence.
There was nothing on record to prove that Rajan -- whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje -- hatched the conspiracy, the court said.
The gangster, however, is not likely to be released from jail anytime soon as he is facing trial in dozens of cases in various cities.
Samant, who organised the 1981 textile mill workers' strike in Mumbai, was shot dead on January 16, 1997, while travelling in his Jeep to his office in Pant Nagar in suburban Ghatkopar.
The assailants, who came on a motorbike, fired 17 rounds.
The prosecution claimed that Rajan hatched the murder conspiracy.
But special judge A M Patil said in the verdict on Friday that nothing was produced to prove that Rajan hatched the conspiracy.
"The material witnesses have turned hostile. They do not support the case of the prosecution. The testimony of other witnesses is not sufficient to prove the charges against the accused," the court said.
In the first phase of the trial, the judgment was pronounced in July 2000.
In the case against Rajan, gangster Guru Satam and Rajan's trusted lieutenant Rohit Verma were shown as absconding accused and their trial was separated.
Rajan was arrested in October 2015 from Bali in Indonesia. Later, the CBI took over all the cases registered against him.
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Thane court sentences man to life imprisonment for bludgeoning wife to death
Thane (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Thane district sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his wife, whom he attacked 22 times with a hammer in front of his children, based on the testimony of his 13-year-old daughter.
Principal district and sessions judge S B Agrawal found the accused, Vijay Mishra alias Samir Shaikh, guilty under sections 302 (murder) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment and a three-year term to be served concurrently. It also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh for the murder charge and an additional Rs 10,000 for injuring his minor daughter and mother-in-law, who had tried to intervene during the fatal attack.
Additional public prosecutor Rashmi Kshirsagar informed that 11 prosecution witnesses, including the accused's daughter, were examined during the trial.
According to the prosecution, the victim, Zarin Israr Ansari, had been living with her mother, along with her daughter and a six-year-old son, for two years following prolonged domestic violence and disputes.
The accused, who had converted to Islam to marry Zarin 14 years prior, harboured deep resentment over her living separately and suspected her character.
On the afternoon of September 28, 2023, the accused stormed into his mother-in-law's residence in Mumbra with a hammer concealed in a bag, cornered his wife on the mezzanine floor, dragged her down, locked the main door, and repeatedly bludgeoned her.
The court defended the testimony of the victim's 13-year-old daughter, who was an eyewitness and had sustained injuries herself, noting that minor inconsistencies do not degrade the core truth of an innocent child's account:
"...they are not of any significant consequence since it is not expected from such a witness of 10 years of age to have a total photographic memory to be reproduced before the court. But as far as the incident is concerned, evidence of this witness is totally free from any reasonable doubt."
The prosecution had also stated that the accused had locked his family inside and threatened a neighbour by brandishing a "bomb-like thing" and declaring he would blow up the building if anyone intervened.
The victim's brother eventually broke down the latched door, disarmed the accused, and pinned him down until the police arrived.
The post-mortem report revealed that the victim had suffered 22 brutal injuries and had died due to severe head wounds.
