July 30: In three separate cases of murder, armed dacoity and drug peddling, the City Civil and Sessions Court today sentenced four accused to rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a fine on them.Additional Sessions Jugde J W Singh sentenced Ram Manik Navgane to five years' RI and imposed a fine of Rs 700 on him for stabbing his friend, Raju Bengali, to death four years ago. On failing to pay the fine, his RI will be extended for another three months.In another case, Praveenkumar B Gosavi and Valli Akbar Sheikh were sentenced to ten years' RI, by sessions judge P K Gaikwad, for looting cash and gold worth Rs 22 lakhs from a jewellery shop in Zaveri Bazar six years ago. The judge, however, acquitted four others involved in the same armed dacoity.Special Sessions Judge for the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act K U Chandiwal sentenced 22-year-old Mohammed Abdul Gaffar Raini to ten years' RI, in addition to paying a fine of Rs one lakh for trying to sell three kilograms of hashish in the city last year. On failing to pay the fine, the drug agent will face an RI for another year.In the first case of murder, Navgane had stabbed Bengali on his chest on June 21, 1993 at Nagpada. A scared Bengali ran for his life down the Shuklaji street while Navgane chased him. Interestingly, the victim fell on the ground close to a police booth in the presence of constables B K Kulkarni and K S Ahire. As the two rushed to his help, Navgane appeared on the spot. After Bengali narrated the incident to the constables, the assailant was arrested with the knife, still in his hands. Bengali breathed his last at the Nair hospital the same day.Inspector Shreedhar Nikam, of the Nagpada police station, investigated the case. Special public prosecutor Vishwas R Patil represented the state, while advocate K Ramswamy defended the accused.In the case of drug peddling, Raini, a resident of Balrampur village in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested with hashish on January 18 last year at Mahim bus depot, along with two of his aides. The three were trying to sell the drug, when sub inspectors Arvind Wadhankar and Ajay Landge, attached to the Narcotics Cell of the Mumbai police arrested them.Special public prosecutor Subhash Gadkar represented the state while advocate Mangnani defended the accused in this case.In the case of the armed dacoity, Gosavi and Sheikh, with four of their aides, had looted shop number 56/A at Hughes Road on August 3, 1991 at around 7.30 am. The six had threatened shop owner S Z Bhimani with revolvers, choppers and knives and had locked him inside the toilet. Following this, they fled with cash and gold worth Rs 22 lakhs.Inspector Shankar Patil of the D B Marg police station had investigated the case. Special public prosecutor Kini argued for the state, while advocate Shinde defended the accused.
