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A Thane court, portion acquitting Raj Thackeray and others successful a 2008 case of alleged battle connected Railway Recruitment Board examinees astatine Kalyan station, has observed that the prosecution failed to beryllium the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief's beingness oregon that helium incited the attack.
The CD containing the alleged code of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) main Thackeray was ne'er produced oregon proved successful court, and arsenic admitted by the probe officer, was "left gathering dust" successful the constabulary presumption from 2013 to 2026, rendering it devoid of immoderate evidentiary value, the tribunal observed successful its May 21 order.
It was further acknowledged (during cross-examination) that the injuries sustained by witnesses could besides person resulted from a stampede triggered by chaos successful the ample crowd, said the tribunal order, a transcript of which was made disposable connected Sunday (May 24, 2026).
Thane's Chief Judicial Magistrate Abhijit V. Kulkarni acquitted Raj Thackeray (57) and 5 others — Akash Rajendra Kale, Santosh Nivritti Thackeray, Vishal Suresh Kamble, Kailash Prakash Choubey and Ganesh Prakash Choubey — successful the 14-year-old case.
The tribunal noted that the prosecution had wholly failed to substantiate the charges beyond a tenable doubt. The lawsuit stemmed from an incidental connected the intervening nighttime of October 17 and 18, 2008.
According to the prosecution, the complainant, Harinarayan Shrichakkilal Ahirwar of Madhya Pradesh, had arrived astatine Kalyan railway presumption successful Maharashtra's Thane territory to look for the written exam conducted by the Railway Recruitment Board for the station of goods guards.
While outstation candidates from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were resting astatine the station's booking hall, 8 to 10 individuals equipped with woody sticks allegedly barged in. Shouting "MNS Zindabad" slogans, the attackers questioned candidates astir their autochthonal States and ordered them to fly portion physically assaulting them, the prosecution alleged.
The Kalyan railway constabulary subsequently registered an FIR nether assorted Indian Penal Code sections connected charges of rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, transgression intimidation, assaulting a nationalist servant and communal intention.
The prosecution alleged that the MNS activists carried retired the unit pursuing an instigating code delivered by Raj Thackeray. But the lawsuit collapsed during the proceedings arsenic cardinal eyewitnesses, including the injured victims, failed to place the accused persons successful court.
CJM Kulkarni made important observations regarding the deficiency of grounds against the accused and the nonaccomplishment of the investigating agency.
"Both these witnesses [the complainant and the eyewitness] stated successful their cross-examination that they could not place those who were committing the battle upon seeing them. Upon verification of the statements of some these witnesses, they did not authorities thing against immoderate idiosyncratic accused, and lone supported the information that the alleged incidental had occurred," the tribunal said.
The day and clip of the introspection are not mentioned successful the documents (submitted by the prosecution), it observed.
During the cross-examination, "it was besides accepted that the injuries sustained by witnesses could besides hap owed to a stampede resulting from chaos successful a monolithic crowd. In this background, value cannot beryllium attached to these certificates and the deposition of the witness," the tribunal said.
"The CD oregon the code therein was ne'er produced oregon proved successful the tribunal for reasons champion known to the prosecution itself, owed to which determination is nary ground to accidental that it was imaginary oregon inflammatory. Legally, the certificate nether conception 65B, which is mandatory for the said CD, was not submitted, and the investigating serviceman admitted this successful cross-examination," it noted.
Legally, the said CD was not preserved according to the indispensable provisions, nor was it sealed, and the probe serviceman explicitly admitted successful the cross-examination that it was "left gathering dust" successful the constabulary presumption from the twelvemonth 2013 to 2026. Therefore, the said CD cannot beryllium fixed adjacent an iota of value value, the tribunal said.
"The astir important facet is that concerning the main allegation against accused Raj Thackeray — that helium personally incited different accused done his code — not a azygous witnesser of the prosecution gave nonstop deposition for reasons champion known to them," it pointed out.
"Therefore, it cannot beryllium said purely based connected imaginativeness that accused Raj Thackeray incited the different accused," the tribunal said.
Even though an effort was made by the prosecution to taxable prima facie immoderate grounds regarding the alleged beingness of the accused Kale astatine the transgression scene, a capable uncertainty was created astir it by the defence done the cross-examination of witnesses, it said.
Therefore, it is indispensable that the accused Kale receives the payment of doubt, the tribunal said. It ruled that the charges of gathering an unlawful assembly, beating up outstation candidates, and obstructing authorities enactment were not proved "beyond a shadiness of doubt".
Two others accused successful the case, Shailesh Parasmal Jain and Nilesh Baliram Ghone, died during the pendency of the trial.
