24-07-2025
Ex-BJP MP Gopal Shetty among 2 acquitted by Mumbai court in 20-year-old police assault case as witness turns hostile
Mumbai: With the purported victim claiming that the push might have been unintentional due to the accused being in a hurry, a sessions court recently acquitted former BJP MP Gopal Shetty (71) and party functionary Ganesh Khankar (52) over two decades after they were accused of storming into a police station and attacking a constable.
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It was alleged that their reaction came after Kasturba Marg police booked Netaji Shinde, a BJP worker from Borivli (E), under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act. The constable turned hostile in court and did not support the prosecution's case.
"From overall evidence on record, it appears that both accused visited Kasturba Marg police station at midnight, possibly with the intention of assisting or supporting their party activist, Netaji Shinde, who was detained under the MPDA Act," additional sessions judge Satyanarayan R Navander said.
He added that the only witness who partly supported the prosecution case was the constable, and even his testimony was contradictory, vague, and substantially weakened during cross-examination.
"No independent or neutral witnesses were examined, and no other officer supported the allegations despite being named in the FIR. The investigating officer himself did not corroborate the allegations. In light of this, a serious doubt arises regarding the prosecution's case," the judge said.
The prosecution had alleged that on Sept 10, 2004, at 12.45am, Shetty and Khankar allegedly pushed aside constable Udesh Mohite, forcibly entered Kasturba Marg police station, hurled abuses, and threatened him. They reportedly entered the detection room and abused the cops and threatened police sub-inspector Radheshyam Sharma before leaving.
A crucial point in the trial was the deposition of Mohite. While he admitted that one of the accused used insulting words after entering the police station, he denied lodging any complaint against them and claimed to be unaware of what transpired after they entered.
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During examination by the prosecution, he admitted that the accused pushed him and hurled abuses, and that he lodged a complaint. However, during cross-examination by the defence, he stated he could not confirm if it was intentional or accidental.
He also did not specify the exact abusive words used.
The judge found his testimony to be "extremely weak and unreliable". "Only after being confronted with leading questions did he admit to being pushed and abused, but those allegations are vague and unsupported.
The further admissions given by him during the defence cross-examination weaken the prosecution's case even more," the judge said.
Sharma deposed that he carried out the investigations and filed the chargesheet. However, he did not state that he personally witnessed the incident or corroborate the allegations in the FIR about him being insulted or intimidated.
The case initially proceeded before the Mazgaon magistrate's court, which framed charges against the accused on Jan 30, 2025, and recorded prosecution witness evidence. However, the JMFC lacked jurisdiction to try the offence under Section 353 of the IPC, which was made exclusively triable by the sessions court via a state amendment. Consequently, the matter was committed to the sessions court on June 21. Fresh charges were framed against the accused by the sessions court on July 19, to which both pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution opted to rely on the evidence already recorded before the JMFC, and the defence raised no objection.
