Pune court acquits Hindu Rashtra Sena leader Dhananjay Desai, 19 others in Mohsin Shaikh murder case

• 9 long years to obtain justice. Is justice delayed, justice denied? The government must actively take up this challenge of fixing the shortcomings in the Judiciary.
• While the innocence of the accused is finally out in the open, what about the years wasted in prison? Who will pay for the years of physical and psychological trauma that the accused and their family suffered? – Editor

Pune : A Pune sessions court on Friday acquitted Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) leader Dhananjay Desai and 19 others in the murder case of IT professional Mohsin Shaikh during the violence which had erupted at Unnatinagar and adjoining localities in Hadapsar over an objectionable post on social media.

The court read out the operative part of the judgment, stating that the evidence on record was not strong enough to convict Desai and the other accused tried in the case. The prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The June 2014 case had caused a major uproar across the city and in the state as Mohsin Shaikh, who was returning to his room from a religious place after offering prayers, was randomly targeted by bike-borne men, armed with hockey and wooden sticks and other weapons.

The group also created a ruckus in the area and damaged properties. In their charge-sheet, the police had accused Desai of instigating violence through a couple of public speeches made on January 19, 2014 at Manjari and on March 17, 2014 at Loni Kalbhor, both near Hadapsar, on the eastern outskirts of Pune.

Source : TOI