A special court in Thane district sentenced two persons to five years of rigorous imprisonment in an extortion case after acquitting them of charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), reported news agency PTI.
Additional special judge A N Sirsikar sentenced the accused, Ashok Shankar Kharat (55) and Durgaprasad Pichchiya Rao (39), to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each, reported PTI.
The special court in Thane district acquitted another accused involved in the case.
A copy of the order dated February 29 was made available on Monday.
Special public prosecutor Sanjay B More informed the court that the accused had demanded Rs 25 lakh from a Navi Mumbai-based builder in January 2010 and threatened him by claiming affiliation with a notorious gang, reported PTI.
The Navi Mumbai police apprehended the accused in February 2010 while they were accepting Rs 2.5 lakh, reported PTI.
The court observed that the prosecution had failed to substantiate the involvement of an organised crime syndicate in the case, reported PTI.
It noted that the accused did not have antecedents, and the offence appeared to stem from a personal dispute rather than organised crime activities, reported PTI.
The court upheld extortion charges and acquitted the accused of charges under the MCOCA.
Earlier, a court in Maharashtra`s Thane district has sentenced six persons, including four sons of a former local corporator couple, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in a 2012 case of attempted murder, reported PTI.
In the order passed on February 29, additional sessions court judge Premal Vithalani also imposed a fine of Rs 26,000 on each of them.
The convicts are identified as Rais Idris Ansari (46), Mohammed Sagir alias Raju Idris Ansari (42), Sarfaraj Idris Ansari (40), Ramiz Idris Ansari (36) (all sons of the corporator couple), Mohammed Salim Abdul Khalik Shaikh (55) and Mushtaq Ahmed Mansoor Shaikh (41), he said, reported PTI.
Special public prosecutor Hemlata Deshmukh told the court that on September 23, 2012, the mother of one of the accused had dumped some garbage in front of a chicken shop in Sri Lanka locality of Mumbra. When the shop owner objected, the woman`s son along with the other accused came to the shop and ransacked it. The accused also attacked the shop owner, his friend and mother, in which the trio suffered serious injuries, reported PTI.
The police later registered a case of unlawful assembly and attempt to murder against the accused and arrested them, reported PTI.
In the order, the judge observed that the prosecution has successfully proven all the charges against the accused and noted that no leniency is required to be shown to them.
(With inputs from PTI)
