Thane court acquits man accused of throwing children from building
zThane (PTI): A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted a 33-year-old man accused of throwing two children from a building, killing one of them.
In his order on Tuesday, Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal said the case against Aasif Shabbir Khan lacked direct eyewitnesses and that it depended on a child’s testimony, which was inconsistent.
According to case papers, Khan allegedly threw five-year-old Sayyad Zohan Hussain and four-year-old Zenab Ansari from the second floor of a building in the Kausa area in February 2023. While Sayyad died, Zenab survived.
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The prosecution’s case primarily rested on Zenab's testimony and her disclosure to her mother. The children reportedly called the accused “phatakewala uncle” because he had distributed crackers to them during Diwali.
However, Judge Agrawal noted that the case had no direct eyewitnesses and relied heavily on the word of a child witness whose testimony became inconsistent under cross-examination.
The court pointed out a suspicious delay in reporting the incident and “the FIR itself appears to be an outcome of a concocted story”.
Judge Agrawal also took into account the defence’s submission that the building’s construction was incomplete and that the children may have fallen accidentally.
The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that Khan be released forthwith.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
