Panaji: A Merces court has acquitted Tulshidas Gaunkar in a 2019 death-by-negligence case involving a pedestrian who was allegedly hit by his military truck near the ferry point in Panaji. The incident occurred while Gaunkar was driving from the KTC bus stand to the market. The court granted him the benefit of doubt after stating that the prosecution failed to establish the identity of the accident victim.
Defective Investigation Cited
The court observed that the prosecution conducted a defective investigation, failed to prove the point of impact, and relied on a panchanama that could not be treated as reliable evidence for the case. The court also noted that the investigating officer made no effort to verify a major discrepancy in the victim's identity.
Identity Discrepancy
Initial reports identified the man as 'Srinivasan', but he was later identified as 'Muttappa' by Ravi Kumar Mudagalu, who claimed to be his son. However, Mudagalu did not produce any documents to support his claim. The court highlighted that the prosecution failed to clearly establish the identity of the accident victim, which weakened the case significantly.
Lack of Evidence
Because of the major inconsistency in the case and lack of evidence, the court held that the offence under Section 304-A IPC was not established. Additionally, the eyewitness admitted that he did not witness the accident, further undermining the prosecution's case.
