Pune Techie Murder Case: Sessions Court acquits 20 accused including Hindu Rashtra Sena chief Dhananjay Desai

A sessions court in Pune on Friday acquitted 20 men including Dhananjay Desai, the president of Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS), accused of killing a young IT professional Mohsin Shaikh in 2014 during communal riots. .Additional Sessions Judge SB Salunkhe acquitted the men for lack of evidence. A detailed copy of the order is yet to be made available. Confirming the development to Bar & Bench, advocate Milind Pawar said, "The court has acquitted all the accused for want of evidence. The prosecution, the court has said, could not produce sufficient material on record to prove its case.".In June 2014, Mohsin, aged 22, was attacked and brutally assaulted by a group of 23 persons including two juveniles, when he was returning home after offering prayers in a Mosque. Due to the assault, he died on the spot. The incident was a result of the riots which took place in Pune after someone had posted objectionable content on social media against Shivaji Maharaj and other Hindu deities. .The case continued to hog the limelight over appointment of special prosecutor and over a controversial bail order of the Bombay High Court. Initially, advocate Ujjwal Nikam was appointed as a special public prosecutor (SPP) in the case. He, however, stepped down without assigning a reason. Subsequently, the family members of Mohsin sought appointment of advocate Rohini Salian as the SPP but the State government appointed Ujwala Pawar as the SPP. .Interestingly, while granting bail to three accused in the case, Justice Mridula Bhatkar of the Bombay High Court had made certain observations in the bail order, which was widely criticised. She had said in the order that the victim's only fault was that he belonged to the "other religion" and that accused also did not have any criminal antecedents except that they were "provoked in the name of religion."This order was quashed by the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Sharad Bobde saying "religion can be no ground to commit murder." The top court had then directed Justice Bhatkar to decide the bail matters afresh. She later granted them bail.