Accused acquitted in Mumbai cable operator murder case as witnesses turn hostile, Chhota Rajan connection unproven

Mumbai: With prosecution witnesses turning hostile, two men accused of murdering cable operator Sanjay Gupta in 2005 at gangster Chhota Rajan's behest were acquitted by a special CBI court on Tuesday. The duo, Jayant Mule (65) and Santosh Bhosale (43), were absconding and were arrested years after the murder. Their trial was separated from the other accused.
In two separate judgments, the special CBI judge said that as the prosecution witnesses did not support the case, they were liable to be acquitted. In Mule's judgement, the judge said, "Considering the evidence on record, it is seen that the prosecution failed to connect this accused with the alleged incident beyond reasonable doubt. There is no medical evidence about the homicidal death of deceased Sanjay Gupta. Therefore, the accused is liable to be acquitted." The case against Rajan, who was deported in 2015, is pending. Rajan is currently in Tihar jail and serving a life sentence for the murder of journalist J Dey.
It was the prosecution's case that the deceased Sanjay Gupta was a partner in SSV Cable and conducting his business in Navi Mumbai. It was further submitted that on March 21, 2005, at about 11.45 am, Gupta was shot dead. The prosecution submitted that the accused, alleged to be members of the Chhota Rajan gang, conspired to eliminate Gupta on the grounds of business rivalry with one of the accused, Pradeep Madgaonkar alias Bandya Mama.
In 2021, the court refused to accept a closure report submitted in the case.