Two out of three accused arrested in a case of armed highway robbery in 2014 were convicted under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Saturday.
The offence was committed on December 5, 2014, near the Dhanori-Konbipada village on the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway, when a team of policemen attached to the Kasa police station, Palghar Commissionerate were travelling in a luxury bus in plainclothes. The cops were on a patrolling round in light of the fact that the area is plagued with several cases of highway robberies every month.
The three were accused of boarding the bus armed with a revolver and swords, and attacking the cops, mistaking them to be civilian passengers. They allegedly threw powdered chilli in one of the policemen's eyes and snatched his gold chain, after which they attacked the other cops with swords and fled.
The police went on to trace and arrest the three accused and charged them under the MCOCA. The case went to trial and on Saturday, a special MCOCA court in Thane convicted Gangaram Bhagdare and Rakesh Parivar, sentencing them to eight years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a collective fine of Rs 10.10 lakh. The third accused was acquitted.
Police officials said that the testimony of 17 witnesses, who deposed in court against the accused, proved instrumental in securing the conviction.
