Court acquits six Ravi Pujari gang members in 2006 case of attempt to murder, extortion

Thane: A special MCOCA court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted six men, who were associated with gangster Ravi Pujari, in a case of organised crime and attempt to murder and extortion after more than 16 years of trial.

In his order of April 1, Additional Special Judge AN Sirsikar of the court dealing with cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the accused.

A copy of the order was made available on Friday.

The court also acquitted two other individuals tried in the same case.

Special Public Prosecutor Sanjay More told the court that the accused barged into the office of a construction company in Navi Mumbai in September 2006, demanded money and attempted to kill the accountant.

Defence counsels Ramrao S Jagtap, Poonit Mahimkar and Priyanka Bhosale contested the charges.

The judge pointed to discrepancies in the prosecution’s case, particularly concerning the identification of the accused and the lack of a clear motive.

The court said the prosecution had failed to prove that the accused committed the offence as a member of an organised crime syndicate.

The court noted that there was no “evidence to show that the accused acquired property by way of pecuniary benefits gained out of organized crime”.

Judge Sirsikar also wrote that charges had yet to be framed against two accused in the case, which was registered nearly 18 years ago.