HC acquits two in 2009 Barrackpore ‘murder’, cites gaps in prosecution case & investigation

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has acquitted two men who had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2009 murder of Nasir Ansari near Circus More in Barrackpore, observing serious flaws in the prosecution case and investigation.

A division bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray overturned the 2015 conviction of Md. Sonu alias Sandrey Alam and Ali Asgar, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The case pertained to the brutal daylight assault on Nasir Ansari on May 5, 2009. According to the prosecution, the accused had attacked Nasir with sharp and blunt weapons, including a chopper, bhujali and a pointed iron rod, in a public area near Circus More. He was allegedly taken to Bhatpara State General

Hospital by his brother and others, where he succumbed to injuries around 2:10 pm.

One of the key pieces of evidence relied on by the trial court was an alleged oral dying declaration made by Nasir to his brother while being taken to hospital. However, the High Court noted that this claim was absent from the FIR and the inquest report, and there were no hospital records or witness statements to support it. The auto-rickshaw driver who supposedly transported Nasir was never examined.

The court found that all key witnesses, including the seizure list witnesses, were from the victim’s locality and not from the area where the crime occurred. No local or independent witnesses from Circus More were produced, raising concerns over the credibility of the narrative. The recovery of the alleged weapon from a public drain was also questioned due to lack of proper corroboration and neutral witnesses.

The court also criticised the way the accused were examined under Section 313 of the CrPC, calling it a flawed procedure that failed to give them a fair chance to respond to evidence. Acquitting both men, the High Court ruled that the conviction was unsustainable in law due to lack of credible and legally admissible evidence. The accused were directed to be released if not wanted in any other case.