The sessions court has acquitted a 42-year-old man of murder charges involving his female friend’s live-in partner. It was alleged that the accused was demanding sexual favors from his female friend. When she resisted, her live-in partner intervened, and the accused, in anger, stabbed him. However, the court gave the accused the benefit of the doubt and acquitted him after he had spent more than four years in prison.
According to the prosecution case, Kavita was married to Sudhakar Barase, but they had separated. It was claimed that the marriage was performed against her will around 15 years ago, as Sudhakar was 50 years old at that time, while Kavita Barase was just 18 to 20 years old. It was claimed that Kavita had been in a relationship with Anil Kshirsagar.
After her marriage, however, Kshirsagar and Kavita were not in touch until the worldwide lockdown. During the lockdown, the two reconnected and started living together. In the meantime, the accused, Umesh Dalve, who was known to Kavita, began harassing her and demanding sexual favors.
The prosecution claimed that on March 24, 2021, when Kavita and Kshirsagar were at home, the accused arrived and made inappropriate demands of her. When she rejected his advances, it resulted in a heated confrontation between the accused and the deceased. In a fit of rage, the accused attacked Kshirsagar with a knife and stabbed him on the left side of the chest. Kshirsagar fell, and Dalve fled from the scene. Kavita later went to the police station and registered the case, and Kshirsagar was rushed to Rajawadi Hospital. However, he was declared dead during treatment.
The prosecution heavily relied on the testimony of Kavita, who was also an eye witness. The defense lawyer, Prakash Salsingekar, claimed that Kavita’s testimony was not reliable and that there was a possibility that the murder was committed by her husband.
The court held Kavita unreliable and observed, “Kavita lives with the deceased in the same vicinity, which is merely 15 minutes away from her husband’s residence. Because of this betrayal, the motive was present for Sudhakar Barase. Moreover, Sudhakar Barase had suspicions about the character of PW-4 and therefore, in order to eliminate Anil, the possibility of an attack by Sudhakar Barase cannot be ruled out, as contended by the defense advocate.”
The court further stated that the investigating officer had failed to investigate Kavita’s husband’s role in the murder, as his presence at the scene cannot be ruled out. Additionally, the court, while acquitting the accused, mentioned, “The monetary dispute angle also did not seem to have been addressed by the investigating officer. Ultimately, it is Kavita who benefited from the death of Kshirsagar, as she resides in the room where this incident took place. Not a single piece of evidence other than Kavita’s testimony has been presented by the prosecution to establish the presence of the accused at the crime scene. Furthermore, no call detail records (CDR) or subscriber detail records (SDR) of the deceased, eyewitnesses, or the accused have been presented before the court.”
