Mumbai: The metropolitan magistrate's court at Vikhroli, recently acquitted two men booked in April 1995 for allegedly robbing an autorickshaw driver, years after the victim had died.

"On bare perusal of the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, it appears that there is no direct evidence against the accused persons. The present case is more than 30 years old. Therefore, the prosecution is unable to secure the presence of other witnesses," the court said while acquiting the accused.

As per the prosecution case, the complaint was lodged by auto rickshaw driver Vinod Kharat, who was 23 year old at that time.

Kharat claimed that, on April 5, 1995, at around 7 pm, he was standing at Chunabhatti waiting to pick up passengers. At that time, one Manjitsingh Gill alias Titu and Ashok Aadhav came there and sat in his auto. The duo asked him to take them to Rajawadi, Ghatkopar. Later at Kurla junction, asked him to take them to Kurla train terminus.

Kharat claimed that at around 7:45 p.m. when he was proceeding towards Kurla terminus the accused asked him to take them to Sindhuwadi in Ghatkopar where he stopped in front of a temple. There one Prakash alias Pakkya Wani also boarded in the rickshaw. The accused persons then allegedly threatened him with a knife and demanded money.

The police arrested Wani and Aadhav but Gill remained absconding. Hence trial against the Vani and Aadhav began in 2005, with the court framing the charges against them.

However, for twenty years the case went into cold storage. When the prosecution began looking at old pending cases, this case also was taken up. However, they found that Kharat had died. The prosecution could not trace other witnesses.

"Therefore, in absence of such evidence, the prosecution failed to connect the chain of offence i.e. occurrence of theft, spot of theft, recovery of the stolen articles, recovery of the alleged knife at the instance of the accused. Therefore, there is absolutely no evidence to connect the accused in this crime, " the court said while acquiting the two.