The four accused in an armed burglary case in February in television actor Lavi Sasan’s house were recently acquitted by the Thane district court. Sanjay Kale, Ramesh Kale, Suresh Kale alias Santosh Chavan, and Ashok Shinde alias Raja Kale had been arrested on 27th February for breaking into the actor’s house at Mira Road earlier that month and allegedly decamping with cash and ornaments valued totally at Rs. 4.07 lakh.
The defence contested the case by pointing out that an identification parade had not been held, that the thieves, as seen on the CCTV footage, had their faces covered, and that none of the stolen property had been recovered from the accused. Sessions judge S.B. Bhavalkar accepted the arguments and acquitted the four accused under sections 395, 397 and 458 of the IPC.