Uday Nagar Chowk stabbing: Court gives life term 7 years on, acquits six
Nagpur court convicts Prasad Rokade of murdering Jitendra Bade in a 2019 street stabbing and acquits six co-accused for lack of evidence.
Nearly seven years after the murder of Jitendra Vasudev Bade at Uday Nagar Chowk in Nagpur in 2019, the district court has delivered its verdict. The District and Additional Sessions Court held main accused Prasad Dashrath Rokade, 29, guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was also fined Rs 25,000, failing which he will have to serve an additional three months of rigorous imprisonment.
Six other men accused in the case were acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them with sufficient evidence. District and Additional Sessions Judge S.H. Gwalani delivered the verdict on Wednesday.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place around 12.10 am on the night of October 28, 2019, on the ring road at Uday Nagar Chowk. Ritik Dhanraj Denge, Abhijit Kharat and Jitendra Vasudev Bade were talking among themselves, while Prasad Rokade stood a short distance away with his associates. A police patrol vehicle passed by, and on seeing it, Rokade and his associates began to flee. It is alleged that Jitendra Bade taunted them as they ran, which led to an argument between the two groups that quickly turned into a physical scuffle.
The prosecution said that during this altercation, Rokade's associates Animesh Kavindra Tagde, 19, Rohan Sandeep Raut, 23, Sumit Gajanan Dahane, 21, Abhishek Suresh Doifode, 20, Archit Naresh Bhave, 23, and Deepak Dilip Chaudhari, 21, assaulted the complainant and his companions. During this, Prasad Rokade allegedly stabbed Jitendra Bade. The stab wounds to his left arm and chest proved serious, and he later died during treatment. The incident had caused panic in the area.
Following the incident, a case was registered at Hudkeshwar police station against all seven accused under murder and related sections, based on a complaint by Ritik Dhanraj Denge. The investigation was carried out by then Woman Police Inspector Shubhangi Deshmukh, who filed the chargesheet in court based on evidence, witness statements and other legal aspects.
During the trial, the prosecution presented witnesses and evidence before the court, on the basis of which the court found Prasad Rokade guilty of murdering Jitendra Bade and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The other six accused, Animesh Tagde, Rohan Raut, Sumit Dahane, Abhishek Doifode, Archit Bhave and Deepak Chaudhari, were acquitted as the charges against them could not be sufficiently proved.
The late-night stabbing had posed a major challenge for police at the time, as a minor argument had escalated into an attack that claimed a young man's life. After nearly seven years of judicial proceedings, the court has now convicted the main accused and given him life imprisonment, while the other six have been given the benefit of the doubt and acquitted. Advocate Kalpana Pandey represented the state government in the case, while advocates Ramesh Rawlani and Jaltare appeared for the accused.
