Mumbai: Man acquitted of murdering neighbour

Mumbai sessions court recently acquitted a 29-year-old man arrested around five-and-a-half-years ago for killing his neighbor who stalked and harassed his wife

Mumbai sessions court recently acquitted a 29-year-old man arrested around five-and-a-half-years ago for killing his neighbor who stalked and harassed his wife. The man was cleared of all charges as the prosecution failed to prove that the weapon used for committing the murder belonged to the accused.

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The accused, Shrinivas Lakka, was arrested for allegedly killing his neighbour on December 22, 2015. Lakka then went to Chunabhatti police station to surrender, the prosecution claimed.

The prosecution had alleged that the deceased used to follow Lakka’s wife and verbally harassed her, following which Lakka met with him asking him to stop. However, as he continued with the stalking and harassment, Lakka assaulted him on neck, head and abdomen multiple times.

The court, however, acquitted Lakka as the prosecution failed to prove that the weapon was Lakka’s. Police claimed they seized and sealed the weapon around 8pm on the day, but evidence on record suggested that a constable was seen carrying the weapon around 10.30pm while investigating the crime. This discrepancy turned out to be fatal for the prosecution case.

Lakka’s lawyer Wahab Khan claimed the confession at the time when he allegedly surrendered, as claimed by the police, was not admissible as evidence. The prosecution had also failed to examine an eye witness, wife of the deceased, to prove the case.

The court accepted the submissions and acquitted Lakka.