A special MCOCA court situated inside high security Arthur Road jail has recently convicted and sentenced two men to nine years imprisonment for robbing two courier boys of valuables worth approximately '14 lakh at gunpoint at Dhobi Talao in 2011.
The prosecution case is that on the night of December 19, 2011, two courier boys were taking gold ornaments to CST railways station, as they were to be sent to Hyderabad. Four men on motorcycles intercepted their taxi near Elephantine Technical College on Mahapalika Marg. One of the accused was carrying a pistol, while two others were armed with sharp weapons. They threatened the courier boys and decamped with the two bags they were carrying.
The police managed to arrest four repeat offenders on a tip off. The trial was being conducted against four persons Ayub Shaikh alias Ayub Chikna (43), Anwarilahi Khan alias Khan Sahab (51), Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Noora (55) and Gumnaram Prajapati alias Ramesh Marwadi (48).
On the instance of arrested accused the police also recovered jewellery worth Rs 13,25,000. They also recovered a pistol, nine cartridges, five mobile phones and a stolen motorcycle from the accused. During investigation police also came to know that Chikna was the head of an organised crime syndicate. Following this, the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act were imposed on the accused. The police also came to know that other persons were also involved in the case, but they are still to be traced.
Public prosecutor Lata Chheda examined 22 witnesses and also relied on confession statement of Noora to prove the case against the accused. But special judge A.L. Pansare held that the prosecution could not prove that Marwadi was involved in the crime. The judge also disbelieved the prosecution theory that deadly weapons were used in the robbery.
After hearing arguments from Mrs Chheda and defence lawyer Mooman, the judge held that the credibility of victim is “not at all shaken” in cross-examination. “It can be, therefore safely concluded that they were robbed by four persons,” said judge. The judge also said, “The evidence further shows that the prosecution successfully proved the role of Chikna and Khan to the extent that they snatched away the bag containing the parcel and briefcase.” The judge acquitted Noora and Marwadi and sentenced both the convicted accused to nine years of rigorous imprisonment.
