Thane court acquits all seven accused in cable theft case filed under MCOCA

A Thane court has acquitted all seven accused in a 2019 case of dacoity at a cable company’s godown, noting that the prosecution failed to establish their identity, involvement, and the essential elements of offences under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Special MCOCA court judge V.G. Mohite, in the order on November 26, 2025, ruled that the entire chain of evidence — from identification to recoveries — suffered from major legal and procedural lapses. The court acquitted the accused of charges under the Indian Penal Code and the MCOCA.

According to the prosecution, eight unidentified men allegedly broke into the cable godown at Mankoli in Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra’s Thane district on July 18, 2019, tied up the workers, and escaped with 64 bundles of polycab cable wire valued at ₹6.77 lakh along with cash and a driving licence. The intruders allegedly made a hole in the compound wall and broke the locks to gain entry.

The police later arrested seven persons in connection with the case. The court, however, found the testimonies of key eyewitnesses to be unreliable owing to contradictions and procedural violations. The identification parade conducted at the Adharwadi Jail in Kalyan was also discarded.

“The prosecution has not recorded the evidence of Executive Magistrate…in these circumstances, it is unsafe to rely upon evidence of prosecution witness and test identification parade panchanama,” the court said.

“The prosecution witnesses had seen the accused in the police station after their arrest…in these circumstances, it is unsafe to rely upon their testimony,” the court said.

The court also rejected multiple recoveries, including cable bundles, sticks, knives and a tempo, on the ground that they were taken from open places, lacked corroboration, or witnesses contradicted police claims.

The prosecution produced call detail records of the accused to suggest coordination before and after the incident. But the court held that such data alone could not implicate them. The court also found that the prosecution completely failed to establish the statutory requirements of “continuing unlawful activity” and “organised crime”.

“The mandatory requirement of the offence of organised crime as defined in Section 2(1)(e) of the MCOC Act has not been proved… mere collection of copies of previous charge sheets…are not sufficient to prove the offence,” it said.

“Considering the evidence placed on record and the legal provisions of the MCOC Act, it is noted that the prosecution has failed to prove the involvement of the accused in the crime,” the court said.

Those acquitted in the case are Baitulla Ruabali Chaudhary (51), Kabir Usman Shaikh (48), Swapnil alias Gotya Rajendra Panchal (38), Bablu Jangbahadur Vishwakarma (44), Puran alias Kancha Sherbahadur Sonar (28), Deepak Jagat Vishwakarma (30) and Jamil Majid Khan (54).