THANE: A 57-year-old Mumbai man accused of chain snatching and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been acquitted by a Special MCOCA Court in Thane after the prosecution failed to establish his identity as one of the perpetrators.
Special Judge VG Mohite acquitted Mohammad Jameer Bashir Shaikh, a resident of Lallubhai Compound in Mankhurd, of all charges, including robbery under Section 394 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3(1)(ii), 3(2) and 3(4) of the MCOC Act, 1999.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on June 22, 2023, when complainant Sampada Suryakant Kale was returning home on foot from a Swaminarayan temple in Naupada, Thane. Around 4.45 pm, two men on a motorcycle allegedly approached her from behind near a Jain temple. The pillion rider snatched her gold chain weighing about 27 grams, valued at Rs 75,000, causing a scratch injury on her neck. A case was subsequently registered at the Naupada Police Station.
During the trial, the court noted several serious lapses in the prosecution’s case. The complainant admitted that she could not identify the accused as she had not clearly seen the faces of the robbers. Despite this, the investigating officer failed to conduct a Test Identification (TI) parade, which the court described as a “material lacuna” in the investigation.
The court also found the alleged recovery of gold ingots and a motorcycle at the accused’s instance unreliable, as the prosecution did not examine independent panch witnesses to corroborate the investigating officer’s claims. Additionally, the goldsmith who was said to have melted the stolen ornaments was not examined as a witness.
Regarding the MCOCA charges, the court observed that the prosecution failed to show that the accused had acquired any immovable property through illegal earnings. Bank records presented in court also did not reveal any suspicious financial transactions. It was noted that the accused’s house had been allotted by a Land Acquisition Officer as part of a Metro project, rather than being purchased with criminal proceeds.
Shaikh, who had been in custody since his arrest on August 3, 2023, was ordered to be released immediately. The case had been under trial before the Special MCOCA Court for more than two years.
