Thane Court Acquits Man Accused Of Throwing Children From Building

A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted a 33-year-old man accused of throwing two children from a building, killing one of them.

In his order on Tuesday, Principal District and Sessions Judge S B Agrawal said the case against Aasif Shabbir Khan lacked direct eyewitnesses and that it depended on a child’s testimony, which was inconsistent.

According to case papers, Khan allegedly threw five-year-old Sayyad Zohan Hussain and four-year-old Zenab Ansari from the second floor of a building in the Kausa area in February 2023. While Sayyad died, Zenab survived.

The prosecution’s case primarily rested on Zenab's testimony and her disclosure to her mother. The children reportedly called the accused “phatakewala uncle” because he had distributed crackers to them during Diwali.

However, Judge Agrawal noted that the case had no direct eyewitnesses and relied heavily on the word of a child witness whose testimony became inconsistent under cross-examination.

The court pointed out a suspicious delay in reporting the incident and “the FIR itself appears to be an outcome of a concocted story”.

Judge Agrawal also took into account the defence’s submission that the building’s construction was incomplete and that the children may have fallen accidentally.

The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that Khan be released forthwith.