Mahabaleshwar resort theft: main accused woman gets 15 months, five acquitted
A Mahabaleshwar court has convicted the main accused in the Oxygen Resort theft case and acquitted five others for lack of evidence.
A court has delivered its verdict in the much-discussed Oxygen Resort theft case in Mahabaleshwar. Judicial Magistrate First Class Uday Ivare pronounced the verdict, convicting the main accused, a woman, and sentencing her to imprisonment, while the remaining five suspects were acquitted for lack of evidence.
The complainant, Vishal Ratikant Toshniwal, a resident of Dr Sabane Road, Mahabaleshwar, had reported the theft at his Oxygen Resort on Vivar Road, Taldev. Between 4 pm on June 25, 2025 and 12 noon on June 28, 2025, as many as 88 types of items were stolen from the resort. These included mattresses, beds, refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, kitchen equipment, a DVR, a projector and a computer.
A case was registered at Mahabaleshwar police station on the allegation that the accused had conspired with one another to commit the theft. The case was registered as Crime Register Number 58/2025 and Court Case Number RCC 30/2025 under sections 305, 331(3)(4), 306 and 317(2) of the BNS.
A total of seven witnesses were cross-examined during the trial. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court found the charges against accused number one, Kanchan Kaliprasad Banerjee, aged 54, of Nalasopara, Vasai East, Thane-Mumbai, proved and convicted her, sentencing her to one year and three months of simple imprisonment.
Accused number two Karan Dashrath Ghadge, accused number three Gautam Suresh Jadhav, accused number four Bhupal Kisan Ghadge, accused number five Rahul Bhupal Gadge and accused number seven Sagar Yashwant Ghadge, all residents of Saidapur, taluka Satara, were acquitted by the court for want of sufficient evidence.
Accused number six and eight remain absconding, and the court has directed Mahabaleshwar police station to file a separate chargesheet against them within three months.
The case was investigated by R M Kale, investigating officer of Mahabaleshwar police station. D M Shaikh appeared as the government pleader in the case, while head constable Jadhav and police constable Kumbhar assisted with court proceedings. The investigation was guided by Sunil Salunkhe, sub-divisional police officer, Wai division, and Harshad Galinde, police inspector, Mahabaleshwar police station.
