Noida: Fourteen years after a mob allegedly attacked a police team and freed a man from their custody in Jewar, a court has acquitted all seven accused, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish their identities. While witnesses corroborated that the attack took place, the court said there was no credible evidence to prove the seven men were among those involved.Additional sessions judge Somprabha Mishra, in an order on Oct 23, said identification proceedings were crucial when an attack was carried out by a group whose members were not previously known to the witnesses. The prosecution’s failure to conduct an identification parade left a key gap in the case.The case dates back to April 18, 2012, when sub-inspector Rajendra Prasad Saraswat and other policemen from Sahawar in present-day Kasganj district reached Jewar to arrest Sohlin in a case of kidnapping for murder. They raided his house in Mehndipur village around 3pm. According to Saraswat’s complaint, around 30 men armed with sticks, axes and other weapons gathered, attacked the police team and forcibly freed Sohlin. The policemen fled towards nearby fields to save themselves.An FIR was registered under IPC sections 147, 148 and 149 for rioting and unlawful assembly, Section 307 for attempt to murder, sections 332 and 353 for assault or hurt to deter public servants from duty, and Section 224 for resisting lawful apprehension, along with Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.The court framed charges on Sept 13, 2013. During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses, including Saraswat, who corroborated the attack. However, the cops who had come from Kasganj did not know the accused beforehand. Saraswat had named them on the basis of information provided by Jewar police, but no personnel from the police station were examined to confirm their identities or involvement.Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kannan vs State of Kerala (1979), the judge said the prosecution had to establish that the accused were among the attackers. “The prosecution has failed to prove the charges levelled against the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” the court held.The seven — Ahmed, Bhura, Dilshad, Sheradin, Santar, Mustakim and Sohlin — were acquitted, with the court granting them the benefit of doubt. Each was asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and a surety of the same amount under Section 437-A of CrPC.
