‘Can't expect complainant to look at watch when he is assaulted': Mumbai court convicts man of murder of neighbour's friend in 2019

Indian Express

09-07-2025

A sessions court in Mumbai Tuesday found a man guilty of assaulting his neighbour and murdering another man over suspicions that the neighbour's complaint led to the demolition of his house by the civic body. The court also convicted an accomplice of the man during the fatal fight while acquitting two others.
According to submissions made before the court by Additional Public Prosecutor Ashwini Rayakar, in 2019, the house of the accused, Siddhesh Dagale, in the eastern suburb of Mulund was demolished by officials of the civic body. Suspecting that this was done on the complaint of his neighbour, Vinayak Mahadeshwar, Dagale decided to confront him.
On April 24, 2019, Dagale went to Mahadeshwar's house, and a fight took place between them, with their respective friends joining in, as per the prosecution. The police claimed that a man named Dynanesh Gurav died in the fight. Mahadeshwar, the complainant in the case, suffered a fracture.
Dagale claimed innocence and blamed the death on delayed medical treatment and questioned why the FIR was filed only the next day. He alleged that there was a discrepancy in the time of the incident recorded by the police and the complainant.
'One cannot expect the complainant to be aware of the time and look at watch when he is assaulted and is in trauma of assault and more trauma on the fact that one of his friend(s) is lying unconscious nearby with his fate not known of (to) either of them. In such circumstances, (the) absence of (a) lack of time disclosed by (the) complainant does not imply adversity but in fact confirms (the) mindset of (the) complainant to be anxious and traumatic which corroborates case of prosecution,' the court said.
The court found no evidence against two others booked but convicted Dagale and his friend Suraj Salve alias Bhurji, on charges including sections 302 (murder) and 326 (causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The accused sought to defend themselves by claiming that the incident was not a planned attack, but a sudden fight with no intention of murder. The court, however, said the victims were attacked with heavy logs of wood, multiple times, which was enough to cause death.
'Entire evidence does not show that Dnyanesh was one of the person(s) who was fighting i.e. (the) deceased had not fought with either
of the accused. He had no enmity with either of the accused. He merely intervened to save the complainant. There is nothing to indicate that he did any act to show that he was having fight with the accused,' the court said.