Mumbai, July 4, 2026: A sessions court has acquitted four men accused of murdering a ration shop owner's wife and stealing cash and gold ornaments from the shop in Bainganwadi, Govandi, in September 2017, holding that the circumstantial evidence failed to establish their guilt.
Case Background
The accused – Ashok Gupta, Rahul Singh, Satyaprakash Chouhan alias Bablu and Majorsingh Chouhan – were booked by the Shivaji Nagar police following a complaint by Sudarshan Gupta. They were arrested in September 2017 and had remained in prison since then.
Sudarshan and his wife, Bhanumati, operated two ration shops. Bhanumati managed the shop at their Bainganwadi residence, while Sudarshan ran another shop at Nimboniya Baug. Satyaprakash and Ashok worked at the shop, but Ashok had been removed from the job about a month before the incident.
On September 22, 2017, at around 5.45 pm, Sudarshan received a call from Bablu saying Bhanumati was not opening the shop shutter. Bablu entered the premises and found her lying in a pool of blood.
Sudarshan found utensils scattered and an almirah and suitcase open. Cash worth Rs 1.76 lakh and gold ornaments were allegedly missing. Bhanumati was taken to hospital, where she was declared dead.
Sudarshan suspected Ashok of committing the crime due to a grudge over his dismissal. Rahul and Majorsingh, relatives of Bablu, frequently visited the shop.
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Court Cites Lack Of Evidence
The court held that although Bhanumati's death was homicidal, there was no eyewitness. It said the alleged recovery of the weapon, cash and ornaments was doubtful and the prosecution had failed to establish a complete chain of circumstances linking the accused to the murder and robbery.
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