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MUMBAI: Nineteen years after 47 Shiv Sainiks were accused of being part of a rally that turned violent when protesting against now BJP neta and Union minister Narayan Rane‘s departure from the party, a special court acquitted 35 of themfor lack of evidence. While around a dozen accused died over the years, the trial against others, including MLC Anil Parab (58) and ex-MLAs Bala Nandgaonkar (64) and Sada Sarvankar (70), continued. Even as the prosecution submitted that the accused were part of a mob of 400-500 who hurled stones at cops, injuring them, the court said there was a distance of 200-300 metres between the cops and accused, and in such a situation, it was certainly not possible to see and identify members of the alleged unlawful assembly.
“It is apparent that some of the accused are public figures being leaders of a political party. Otherwise, no steps were taken by the investigating agency for the identification of accused who were not known persons. Thus, considering inconsistent evidence adduced by the material prosecution witnesses, they cannot be relied upon,” the judge said.
The judge further said there was no documentary evidence produced that there was a promulgation order in effect which disallowed the accused from gathering. “… The investigating officer admitted that the order was not published through media. There is no copy of a newspaper attached to the chargesheet in which the order was published,” the judge said.
The judge further said that resultantly, the very foundation of the prosecution case based on the charges of an unlawful assembly, rioting, etc, cannot be said to have been established. The accused were out on bail.
On July 24, 2005, cops booked the accused for various offences under IPC, including those for forming an unlawful assembly and committing rioting, using criminal force against police personnel, voluntarily hurting them, and damaging public property. It was the prosecution’s case that at 10 am on July 24, 2005, the situation escalated as protesters attempted to breach police barricades. Despite repeated warnings from senior officials through megaphones, the mob grew increasingly aggressive.
When protesters broke through the police cordon, they began assaulting officers with flag poles, stones, and makeshift weapons. The injured police personnel, including PSI Sarita Chavan, were treated at KEM Hospital for their injuries. During their treatment, they observed several protest participants also seeking medical attention. The police identified and documented these individuals for their records.
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