Pune Gangland: 12 Bharne Gang Members Acquitted in Murder Case Due to Lack of Evidence
By India Crime Correspondent
PUNE, March 4, 2012
Special Judge (MCOCA) SS Gadge delivered a verdict of acquittal on Saturday for 12 individuals associated with the Bharne gang.
The acquittals were based on grounds of insufficient evidence, discrepancies in testimony, and the application of the benefit of doubt principle.
The accused had been charged with the murder of Ananta Bajirao Padale (38), a former sarpanch of Mhalunge village and a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in the year 2007.
List of Acquitted:
Among those acquitted by the court are Amol Hanumant Yadav (30), Bhaiya alias Malhari Vishwanath Longare (26), Laxman Suryakant Pawar (33), Santosh Abhimanyu Gade (35), and Santosh Ashok Shinde (33), all residents of Solapur. Additionally, Rakesh Popat Bharne (35) and Vijay Kailash Bhosale (29), residents of Maangaon, Jaideep Sampat Mane (36) of Thergaon, Sanjay Madhukar Kumkar (37) of Kasarwadi, Suraj Shivaji Wadghare (24) and Chetan Jaysinh Nikalje (24) of Mhalunge, and Ashok Shantaram Sawant (37) of Talegaon Dabahde were also acquitted.
Details of the Incident:
The case pertains to the killing of Ananta Bajirao Padale on April 20, 2007, around 2 pm. Padale was fatally shot by three assailants who were riding motorcycles at Ahimsa Chowk in Chinchwad.
The chargesheet outlined that Padale was en-route to the sub-registrar’s office in Chinchwad while riding his motorcycle. The trio of suspects—Gade, Yadav, and Shinde—were trailing Padale.
Padale paused at Ahimsa Chowk, engaged in a phone conversation, when he was allegedly shot. All the accused were found to have been in communication with each other through mobile phones.
Charges and Legal Proceedings:
Subsequently, the accused were arrested and faced charges under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as relevant sections of the Arms Act, Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), and Bombay Police Act.
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