A sessions court in Shirur has acquitted a sugar cane worker of slitting the throat of his seven-month-old daughter and throwing her body into a well. The man spent almost eight years in jail as an undertrial before the court delivered its judgment on Thursday.
The court held that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence against the sugar cane worker, despite proving that the infant's death was homicidal. The accused, from Jalgaon district, was 22 years old at the time of his daughter's death and was arrested on March 3, 2018.
Additional sessions judge S P Pol noted that while medical evidence conclusively showed the child's death was caused by a deep incised neck injury inflicted by a hard and sharp object, the prosecution could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the sugar cane worker was the perpetrator. The case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence and an alleged extra-judicial confession before his supervisor, which could not alone form the basis of conviction without strong independent corroboration.
The prosecution's case was that the accused, his wife, and their two children lived in a hut near a sugar cane field in Shirur taluka. The infant went missing during the night on February 28, 2018, and her body was found floating in a well two days later, with her throat slit. According to the prosecution, the accused later told the labour contractor that he suspected the child was not biologically his and had killed her in anger following quarrels with his wife.
The court found major gaps in the prosecution's case, including the failure to examine key witnesses such as the wife of the accused, neighbouring workers, and the supervisor. Holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges under sections 302 and 201 of the IPC beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted the sugar cane worker and ordered his release from jail if not required in any other case.
