Thane Court Acquits Man of Daughter's Kidnap,Murder

Thane: A sessions court in Maharashtra ’s Thane district has acquitted a 34-year-old man facing charges for the kidnap and murder of his 8-year-old daughter nearly three years ago, citing lack of evidence.

In his order dated October 10, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal held that the prosecution had failed to back its claims against Anis Mohammad Khan Maldar.

As per the prosecution, Maldar was addicted to gambling and would often have minor disagreements with his wife. When his wife was at a hospital on December 3, 2021, she received a call from her husband shortly after midnight saying he had killed their daughter Mahira.

Advocate Sagar R Kolhe, who represented Maldar, successfully argued that there were inconsistencies in the prosecution’s claims.

“There is no motive attributed to the accused for killing his daughter...the informant (wife) admitted that she used to have minor quarrels with the accused and that the accused loved Mahira,” observed the judge.

The court also pointed to discrepancies in the accounts of the policemen who responded to the scene.

“As far as kidnapping is concerned, admittedly the accused was the father of the victim, and I fail to understand how an offence of kidnapping would be made out against the accused,” the judge noted.

Acquitting Maldar, the court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges against him beyond reasonable doubt. 

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