Panvel Court Acquits Two Men in 14-Year-Old Farmhouse Murder Case

A Panvel court has acquitted two men, Ramdas Govind Patil and Surendrakumar Rajmani Shukla, accused of murdering four men at a farmhouse in the Chinchavali area 14 years ago.

The court observed that the prosecution failed to produce sufficient evidence to establish a conspiracy or recover the weapons allegedly used in the attack.

The four men who died were identified as Ramdas Patil, Balaram Tople, Nitin Joshi, and Pritham Gharat. Investigators alleged that the main accused had lured the victims by promising a scheme that would turn Rs 1 lakh into crores.

The prosecution relied heavily on the alleged movement of firearms among the accused, but the court held that it failed to establish the alleged chain of firearm transfers or prove the surviving accused's involvement in the killings.

The court acquitted both accused due to lack of evidence under Section 235(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Their bail bonds were cancelled, and each was directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with surety to ensure their appearance before a higher court, whenever required.