Kalyan: Nearly 19 years after a youth was pushed off a bridge into the flooded Kalu river near Titwala following a quarrel, the Kalyan Sessions Court convicted three men for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and assault, while acquitting them of the charge of murder.Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Sayyad sentenced the three convicts — Vineet Meher (41), Vikas Dalvi (37), and Harish Meher (36) — to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. The court directed that the total compensation amount be paid to the victim’s father, Akaram Pawar. In default of payment, each convict will have to undergo two years’ simple imprisonment. The court also imposed an additional Rs 1,000 fine each for the offence of assault.According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on Aug 15, 2007, when Vinayak Pawar and his friends visited the Titwala Ganesh Temple and later went to the Kalu river. Following a sudden altercation on the bridge, the accused allegedly pushed Pawar into the river, where he drowned in the strong current.During the trial, the prosecution examined nine witnesses. Additional public prosecutor Sachin Kulkarni represented the state in the case. The court held that while the accused knew that pushing a person into a flooded river was likely to cause death, the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they had the intention to commit murder. The accused were therefore convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead of murder.In its order, the court observed that the incident arose out of a sudden quarrel on the bridge and noted evidence showing that the accused jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue Pawar after he fell. The judgement also recorded that the accused earlier warned the deceased not to venture near the riverbank, informing him that four youths from Dombivli had previously drowned at the spot.The judge further took into account that the accused were 27, 24 and 21 years old at the time of the incident. Considering the overall circumstances, the court held that imposing a substantial fine and directing it to be paid as compensation to the victim’s family, instead of awarding imprisonment, would meet the ends of justice.A case was registered at Titwala police station soon after the incident, and a chargesheet was subsequently filed. After a trial, the court delivered its verdict on Wednesday.
