The court’s observation may assume a whole new meaning after the Supreme Court’s acquittal of the six, and recalling its own order sentencing them to death.In 2007, when Bombay High Court confirmed the death sentence handed out to Ankush Maruti Shinde, Rajya Appa Shinde, Ambadas Laxman Shinde, Raju Mhasu Shinde, Bapu Appa Shinde and Surya, alias Suresh, Shinde for committing rape, murder and dacoity, it had observed, “In view of the gravity of the incidence, the police machinery was obviously under tremendous pressure and sought assistance from neighbouring districts like Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Dhule, etc.”
The court’s observation may assume a whole new meaning after the Supreme Court’s acquittal of the six, and recalling its own order sentencing them to death.
According to the prosecution’s case, Trimbak Satote, his wife, three sons and a minor daughter lived in a hut on an agricultural land in Belatgavan Shivar, Nashik. Around 10.30 pm on June 5, 2003, seven or eight men entered their home, threatened them, and stripped them of Rs 3,000 cash and gold and silver ornaments.
The assailants then went out, consumed liquor and returned with weapons such as knife, axe handle, sickle, spade with handle and yoke pin, etc, according to the prosecution.
They subsequently unleashed carnage. They assaulted the men, took the women out, raped them. They brought them back in, raised the volume of a tape recorder, and with the lights and TV on, they put on their shoes and walked on the bodies, assuming they were all dead.
Satote’s wife and one son had survived.
The first breakthrough, the court recorded, came 17 days after the incident, when Nashik Crime Branch arrested Ankush and Rajya. Ambadas, Raju and Bapu — accused numbers 3 to 5 — were arrested on June 27, 2003, and the sixth accused, Suresh, was held on October 7, 2004.
A case of ‘mistaken identity’ was made out before HC by defence counsel Ashok Mundargi. He pointed out that Satote’s wife, the prosecution’s star witness who survived the attack, had been shown photographs in ‘File No. 80’, based on which she had identified four people — all history-sheeters — as offenders. He argued that Test Identification (TI) parade was also vitiated.
The prosecution argued that the TI parade held on July 7, 2003, suffered from some minor procedural requirements but did not suffer from any major defects.
The court held, “Much has been said by the defence on this part of (wife’s) evidence in support of the contention of the accused that they were implicated in the case under a mistaken belief…. We are not impressed by these submissions. It is not only the TI parade where the accused were identified by both witnesses; during the course of trial, the witnesses, while in witness box, pointed their fingers towards each of the accused, assigning a specific role to every one…”
Justice B H Marlapalle ruled, “All these acts show that accused had committed brutal murder and their acts were inhuman. They were indifferent and away from humanity…”
