Thane court acquits RPF constable accused in graft case

Thane, Aug 6 (PTI) A special CBI court in Maharashtra’s Thane district acquitted a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable booked in a 2007 graft case, citing insufficient evidence against him.

Special CBI judge Amit M Shete, in his order, said the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against Santosh Gulabrao Lambate (53), who needed to be given the benefit of the doubt.

The case against another accused, Ram Adhar Yadav, was abated as he passed away during the trial.

A copy of the order, dated August 3, was made available on Tuesday.

The special public prosecutor informed the court that in July 2007, the Bhayandar RPF had registered a case against a scrap dealer for allegedly stealing materials belonging to the Railways and selling them.

Lambate approached the scrap dealer, informing him of a warrant issued by the Railway court. He took him to the railway police station and demanded Rs 10,000 to resolve the issue.

He eventually settled for Rs 5,500, following which the scrap dealer approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the prosecutor said.

The court noted the complainant’s unusual determination to approach the CBI against the RPF constable despite having a history of illegal activities himself.

The court also found it significant that the complainant chose to approach the accused rather than seeking to have the warrant cancelled, indicating a deliberate intent to prosecute RPF personnel.

Judge Shete concluded that given the peculiar facts of the case and the presence of two possible views, the view favouring the accused had to be accepted. He also noted that the authorities relied upon by the prosecution were not particularly helpful due to dissimilar facts and points of consideration.