Panvel court acquits two accused in 2012 Chinchwali farmhouse murders of four for lack of evidence

Nearly 14 years after four people were killed at a farmhouse in Chinchwali, the Additional Sessions Court in Panvel has acquitted the two surviving accused in the case, Ramdas Govind Patil, 42, and Surendrakumar Rajmani Shukla, 59, citing lack of evidence.

In his recent verdict, Additional Sessions Judge Santosh R Chavan said the prosecution failed to prove the role of the two in the charges of criminal conspiracy, the chain of supply of the weapon, murder, cheating and offences under the Arms Act. Two other co-accused, Chandrakant Waghmare and Sanjay Khutle, died during the trial, and proceedings against them were abated.

According to the prosecution, complainant Dattatray Nago Patil owns the 3.5-acre Patil Farm in Chinchwali, which was looked after by a watchman, Ladku Durge. On November 10, 2012, Dattatray handed the keys of the farm to his cousin Ramdas Patil in connection with land deals. Three days later, Dattatray received a phone call from Ramdas, who passed the phone to an unknown Marathi-speaking man who expressed interest in buying property.

The next day, when Ramdas's phone was found switched off, the family sent the watchman's son to the farm. He found a horrific scene of bloodshed. On receiving the news, Dattatray's sons rushed to the spot. Ramdas's body lay outside near parked vehicles, with injuries from blows with a stone. Three other men, Balaram Topale, Nitin Joshi and Pritam Gharat, were found dead inside the hall. All three had been shot in the head.

Investigators alleged that the main accused, Waghmare, lured the victims with a "rain of money" scheme, claiming that Rs 1 lakh would turn into crores, and persuaded them to bring a large sum in cash to the farmhouse. He is alleged to have taken possession of the money before the killings.

Police claimed that on the basis of Waghmare's statement, Rs 2.99 lakh, clothes, a motorcycle and keys were recovered. The court, however, held that the prosecution could not link the surviving accused either to the fraudulent scheme or to the murders.

A key part of the prosecution case rested on the passage of a country-made pistol among the accused. The state claimed that Shukla gave the weapon to Khutle, who gave it to Ramdas Govind Patil, who handed it to Waghmare, who carried out the killings. The prosecution argued that, despite Waghmare's death, the evidence gathered was enough to prove the role of the two. The defence said there was no evidence linking the two to the exchange of the weapon or to the murders, and that the state had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. After examining the material, the court said the alleged chain of the weapon's transfer was not established, nor was the involvement of the surviving accused in the killings.

The prosecution examined three witnesses. Complainant Dattatray Patil spoke about the farmhouse, the handing over of the keys and the discovery of the bodies. Dr Bhushan Jain had conducted the post-mortem. Investigating officer Sunil Bajare deposed on the investigation and the seizures, which were stated to be linked to the alleged statement of the deceased main accused.

Medical evidence established that Topale, Joshi and Gharat died of gunshot wounds to the head, while Ramdas Patil died of injuries caused by a stone. The court nevertheless said that proof that the deaths were homicides does not by itself establish the involvement of the surviving accused beyond doubt.

The court held that the charges under the IPC, the Arms Act and the Bombay Police Act were not proved against the two and acquitted both under Section 235(1) of the CrPC. Their bail bonds were cancelled, but under Section 437-A each was directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with sureties, so that they can appear before a higher court if required.

Panvel City Police Senior Inspector Bala Kumbhar said, "We will go through the copy of the order and consult our police prosecutor, and only then will I be able to say anything on this." DCP (Zone 3, Panvel) Rashmi Nandedkar said, "I have not yet received the court order. I will read it and then decide on further action."