Thane: Court acquits seven farmers from tribal village accused of attacking villager

A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted seven farmers from a tribal village in a case registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for attacking and injuring a villager.

Special judge (SC ST) Act AS Bhagwat in his recent order held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubts and hence the accused need to be acquitted.

According to the prosecution, in July 2016, the accused persons armed with sticks attacked the victim, a member of Thakur community in Vasuri village of Khadakpada, and ransacked his hut and threw out his belongings.

The judge in his order noted that the complainant who was restrained by the civil court’s order was aggrieved and hence, he falsely implicated the accused persons.

The evidence presented by the prosecution witnesses was vague, self-contradictory and there is no corroboration to the sole eye-witness complainant from any quarters, it said.