In a significant verdict delivered on Thursday, an Additional Sessions Court in Thane acquitted a 35-year-old woman of murdering a nine-year-old girl but found her guilty, along with a male co-accused, for the deliberate destruction of evidence. The complex case, which stretched over five years, revolved around the death and subsequent disposal of the child's body.
Court Cites Lack of Direct Evidence for Murder Acquittal
Additional Sessions Judge A S Bhagwat cleared Anita Prakash Rathod of the primary charges of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and cruelty under the Juvenile Justice Act. The acquittal was primarily based on the absence of direct eyewitnesses to the alleged killing and an inconclusive postmortem report.
The prosecution's case stated that the victim, Bharati, was taken from Aurangabad in 2018 by Anita and her husband, Prakash Rathod, under the promise of a better education. Instead, she was allegedly forced into household labor and mistreated. The prosecution claimed the couple killed the child after she failed at chores and soiled her clothes. Prakash Rathod died by suicide before the formal chargesheet was filed in the case.
However, the court noted contradictions and vagueness in witness accounts regarding cruelty. Crucially, the medical officer who conducted the postmortem examination testified that the cause of death could not be determined due to the advanced decomposed state of the body, which was recovered several days after the incident.
"Clinching Evidence" Secures Conviction for Destroying Evidence
While the murder charge did not stand, the court found irrefutable proof that Anita Rathod and her co-accused, Akash Sopan Chavan, were responsible for causing the disappearance of the girl's body to conceal the crime.
The prosecution successfully established that Akash Chavan assisted the late Prakash Rathod in transporting the victim's body. The body was concealed inside a plastic drum filled with cement and taken to Kasara Ghat, where it was dumped into a valley. Key evidence included the testimony of a tempo owner who confirmed renting his vehicle to Akash on the night in question, and a shopkeeper who verified selling bamboo that was used to lift the heavy drum.
Sentencing and Case Closure
Judge Bhagwat sentenced both Anita Rathod and Akash Chavan to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each for the offense of destroying evidence. The court noted that Anita had already spent nearly six years in detention during the trial, which effectively means she has completed her sentence. The verdict brings a legal conclusion to a protracted and tragic case that began five years ago.
