In a case of revenge killing, 30-year old Malad resident Anil Makwana axed his friend Rajiv Singh to death, but was acquitted by the sessions court on Wednesday, reports Mumbai Mirror. Anil believed his friend was having an affair with his wife and had circulated her obscene MMS clips.
The prosecution case lost ground when four of Makwana's friends - the only eyewitnesses in the case - told the magistrate that the police had tutored them to make statements against Makwana.
According to the prosecution, Makwana came to know of his wife's affair with Singh in February 2008, after Singh allegedly circulated her MMS clips to others in the vicinity.
After this he allegedly plotted Singh's murder. On March 28, Makwana invited his friends – Sandeep Pawar, Girish Rao, Shailesh Patel, Rakesh Kadam and Singh – for birthday celebrations at Malad's Deendayal Garden.
According to police, the six consumed drinks and snacks at 7.30 pm. An hour later, Makwana excused himself and allegedly returned with a huge axe. Police said he attacked Singh from behind, hitting him on the head and neck, killing him instantly. Makwana fled the scene, so did his friends. Dindoshi police nabbed him the next day.
The prosecution examined a dozen witnesses in the trial.
However, the case depended on the statements of the four friends, made before a Borivali magistrate, as they were the only witnesses.
Police based the murder motive on Sandeep's statement in which he said that Anil was deeply disturbed on seeing his wife's MMS clip.
However, during cross-examination by the defence lawyer Arun Jadhav the four said that police tutored them to give statements as eyewitnesses before the magistrate.
The four also said that police had kept them in custody for four days after the incident, during which they were tutored to suit the police's case. Jadhav said, “The friends made very damning admissions, as they also admitted in court that they gave wrong statements to the magistrate, due to police pressure and threats.”
Sessions Judge Mangala Dhote acquitted Makwana. Jadhav claimed that though the four claimed to be Singh's friends, their conduct of fleeing the murder scene to fetch medical help is “most unnatural”.
Two witnesses had several criminal cases pending against them, and hence they could not say no to the police's diktats, Jadhav contended.
With the fingerprint on liquor bottles, glasses and other articles from the scene not matching those of either Makwana's, Singh's or any of the four friends, the prosecution had no evidence to prove the presence of the six men at the spot.
“The prosecution's claims that Singh was also drinking that night were also negated as his reports did not show any alcohol in his blood,” Jadhav added.
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