<p>A court in Maharashtra's <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/thane-court-acquits-4-booked-under-mcoca-in-chain-snatching-case-23408095" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Thane district</a> has acquitted a 33-year-old man arrested in 2019 in a case of murder and robbery, citing lack of incriminatory evidence, reported news agency PTI.</p>
<p>Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal, in the order on September 25, also called for an inquiry into the five-year delay in committing the matter to trial.</p>
<p>A copy of the order was made available on Sunday.</p>
<p>The case against Armogam Raja, a carpenter by profession, was that he and several other accomplices, armed with weapons including a chopper and knife, murdered Ritesh Dharmanarayan Singh while also committing robbery on March 1, 2014, reported PTI.</p>
<p>Three other accused were tried in an earlier <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/thane-court-acquits-four-persons-in-2014-murder-case-23388930" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Thane court</a> session and were acquitted due to insufficient evidence while two others were discharged from the case.</p>
<p>Raja, who had been absconding, was arrested in 2019 and has been since in custody.</p>
<p>The trial saw the prosecution present several witnesses, who testified that Singh borrowed a vehicle on the night of the incident and failed to return it to the accused, reported PTI.</p>
<p>However, the defence pointed out that the witnesses had not provided any incriminating testimony against Raja, leading to lack of evidence supporting the charges.</p>
<p>The Thane court noted that no witnesses testified against Raja during the trial, and the evidence presented did not establish his involvement in the crime.</p>
<p>Judge Agrawal also requested the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/thane-court-acquits-12-in-murder-of-jewellery-shop-employee-23354821" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">chief judicial magistrate</a> to "conduct an inquiry as to why the matter was not committed for a period of five years" and submit a report, reported PTI.</p>
<h2>Thane court acquits 4 booked under MCOCA in chain-snatching case</h2>
<p>A Thane court has acquitted four members of the Irani gang booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a chain-snatching case, saying there was laxity on the part of police due to which the accused were getting benefit of doubt.</p>
<p>Special Judge (MCOCA) Amit M Shete, in the order on October 1, also directed the police authorities to initiate appropriate action against the errant cops.</p>
<p>A copy of the order, which came after a lengthy trial that began with a complaint filed on July 8, 2019, was made available on October 8.</p>
<p><strong>(With inputs from PTI)</strong></p><p>
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