Thaindian News

Mumbai, April 13 (IANS) A Mumbai court Wednesday acquitted eight people who were charged with attempt to murder during the Ramabai Nagar firing incident in Ghatkopar 14 years ago.

According to the prosecution, the eight accused, which include Anna Kadam, Bapu Kolatkar, Hiraman Gaikwad, Raghunath Jadhav, Sanjay Hire, Sudev Giri and Sanjay Ahire, were planning to set afire a gas tanker stationed nearby during the disturbances.

At that time, the accused were at home and rushed out only when police opened fire.

They sustained bullet injuries from the firing, but police contended that they were fired at because they were planning to afire the tanker.

Surprisingly, all of them were unaware that they were the accused in the case until 2006 when they received court summons.

They were named as accused in the riots that erupted after a police officer ordered firing on a Dalit mob after they protested desecration of a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar on July 11, 1997, when the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance was in power.

The police firing in that incident claimed the lives of 10 people and injured 26 more, sparking off a major political row which led to the appointment of a committee headed by former Justice S. D. Gundewar in November 1997.

In its report submitted in August 1998, the commission indicted the State Reserve Police Force platoon commander Manohar Kadam who had ordered the firing, and termed it as “needless and indiscriminate”.

Kadam, who contended that he ordered the firing to restrain the rioting mob from setting afire a gas tanker, was later sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, he later secured bail and suspension of his sentence from the Bombay High Court.

Wednesday’s ruling comes on the eve of the 120th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Ambedkar, who is regarded as the Father of the Indian Constitution.