Thane, Apr 28 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted three members of a family accused of abetting a man's suicide due to an alleged property dispute.

Additional sessions judge Amit M Shete acquitted Jatin Surendra Rathod (44), Madhumatiben Surendra Rathod (64), and Mukund Surendra Rathod (41) of charges under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

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A copy of the order, dated April 23, was made available on Monday.

As per the case details, the victim, Arvindbhai Bhanjibhai Panchal, committed suicide on March 6, 2016, by hanging himself in his Mira Road residence, and his wife lodged a complaint alleging that he had been mentally harassed by the accused, who had denied him a share in the family's properties.

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During the trial, the court noted that two of the original five accused had passed away, leading to the abatement of proceedings against them.

The prosecution's case was weakened considerably after the complainant, her elder son and sister-in-law failed to support the prosecution's version during examination and cross-examination.

The deceased man's son conceded that the property issue was not the reason behind his father's suicide.

Judge Shete, in his ruling, emphasised that the prosecution failed to discharge its burden of proving abetment.

With no incriminating evidence found, the court ruled that the accused were entitled to the benefit of the doubt.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)