Nagpur court acquits all four accused in Kunal Kanhere murder case, finds gaps in evidence

A Nagpur sessions court has acquitted all four accused in the Kunal Kanhere murder case. The court held that the prosecution could not prove the offence against them. Sessions Judge M. Salman Azmi found serious flaws in the circumstantial evidence and delivered the verdict on that basis.

The four acquitted are Sandeep alias Chintu Bopche, Ayush alias Kannu Meshram, Kartik alias Babu Sursaut and Aditya alias Taklya Masram. The incident took place on May 2, 2024, in Vrindavan Layout under the MIDC police station area. The case had drawn considerable attention in the city.

During the trial, the prosecution had the statements of 11 witnesses recorded in court. Three kinds of circumstantial evidence were relied upon against the accused: the deceased being last seen with the accused, CCTV footage, and the seizure of clothes. The court examined all of this evidence and found several serious shortcomings in it.

The most important point the court noted was a gap of more than four hours between the deceased being last seen with the accused and news of his death being received. It also could not be established that the deceased had gone with the accused to the spot where the incident took place. The identity of the accused had also not been firmly established by showing the CCTV footage to witnesses.

The court particularly observed that there was a serious lack of coordination between the witnesses and the evidence produced by the prosecution. The prosecution also could not produce any solid and incontrovertible evidence directly linking the four accused to the crime.

In his judgment, Sessions Judge M. Salman Azmi stated clearly that in criminal cases the benefit of doubt always goes to the accused. The four were acquitted under this principle.

Kunal Kanhere's family members are deeply disappointed and angry after the verdict. They allege that they had hoped for justice in the case, but the guilty could not be punished because of weak pursuit of the case by the police and the prosecution. The family has said it will appeal against the verdict in the High Court.

Serious questions are also being raised at the social and local level about the justice system and the quality of the police investigation following the verdict.