Ghaziabad:A Ghaziabad court on Thursday acquitted three men in a 1994 case in which they were accused of pelting stones at the Shramjeevi Express train.
According to the prosecutor, the incident took place on July 13, 1994, when the train was halted between Pilkhuwa and Masuri due to chain pulling.
The three men, identified as Deen Dayal, Brij Kishor, and Shravan Kumar, were hurling abuses and pelting stones at the passengers. They were later overpowered by the train and police staff.
According to the court order, the prosecution said the three men were daily vendors who travelled to Delhi without tickets in the sleeper coach.
A case was filed that day at the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station in Ghaziabad under IPC sections 152 (assaulting or obstructing public servant when suppressing riot, etc.), 141(unlawful assembly), 153(wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 173(preventing service of summons), 138(abetment of act of insubordination), 155(liability of person for whose benefit riot is committed), 180(refusing to sign statements), and 145(joins or continues in an unlawful assembly).
The order said that the prosecution produced the train’s loco pilot as a witness, whereas, the defence maintained that he could not identify the three men in his statements before the court.
“Based on facts and circumstances, the prosecution could not prove charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt… Accused Deen Dayal, Shravan Kumar, and Brij Kishor are acquitted of charges under IPC sections 152, 141, 153, 173, 138, 155, 180, 145,” special judge (Pocso Act) Neeraj Gautam said in the order delivered on Thursday.
The court stated that the chargesheet against the three was filed before a lower court and the case was transferred to the sessions court on September 18, 2024.
“The delay in the case was due to committal from the lower court to the sessions court. The delay could be due to multiple reasons,” said a government counsel, requesting anonymity.