Miscreants break into temple in Palghar; steal valuables worth Rs 2.35 lakh

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Unidentified persons broke into a temple and stole valuables worth Rs 2.35 lakh in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Sunday, reported news agency PTI.

The theft occurred at Pimpal Nala in the Chinchani area late on Thursday night, an official said.

The official from Vangaon police station said unidentified miscreants broke into the Samudri Mata Mandir and decamped with valuables worth Rs 2.35 lakh, including an idol, ornaments and cash from donation boxes, reported PTI.

A case has been registered under sections 305(a) (theft in a dwelling house, means of transportation, or place of worship) and 331(4) (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking after sunset and before sunrise) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said, adding that a probe is underway.

Thane court acquits man accused of kidnapping, murdering 13-year-old boy

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a man accused of kidnapping and murdering a 13-year-old boy in 2022, citing insufficient evidence against him.

Principal District and Sessions Court judge S B Agrawal acquitted Dashrath Prakash Kakade (30), a resident of Mumbra, of charges, including abduction, murder, and destruction of evidence.

A copy of the order dated February 28 was made available on Sunday.

The prosecution had alleged that Kakade, a contractor, had kidnapped the victim, Suresh alias Rupesh Vijay Gole, on the pretext of buying clothes on April 17, 2022, and later strangled him at a public toilet near the railway tracks in Diva, Thane.

Initially, an FIR was registered under section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. The police later added the charges of sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping with intent to murder), and 201 (destruction of evidence).

During the trial, the victim's mother testified that Kakade took the boy away around 3 pm on the day of the incident. However, the court raised concerns about the credibility of her statement as it was recorded 11 days after the incident.

A crucial piece of evidence, CCTV footage allegedly showing Kakade with the victim, was also ruled inadmissible due to non-compliance with the Indian Evidence Act.

Another key argument made by the prosecution was that Kakade led the police to the location of the boy's body. However, the court questioned the validity of this claim, highlighting that the body was discovered in a public toilet, a location accessible to many.

While the postmortem report confirmed that the victim died due to throttling, it did not provide any direct link to the accused, the court said.

Blood and forensic analyses also failed to establish any conclusive evidence against him, it stated.

The court also noted that the initial FIR mentioned Kakade dropping the victim off at a local fair, leaving room for other possibilities.

Given these gaps in the evidence, the court held that the prosecution had failed to establish an unbroken chain of circumstances proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(With inputs from PTI)