MCOCA invoked against four over assault, Rs 12.8L robbery at Beed energy plant

Four members of a gang that allegedly assaulted two watchmen of a private firm in Maharashtra`s Beed district and robbed property worth Rs 12.87 lakh have been booked under the stringent MCOCA, police have said, reported news agency PTI.

Confessions made to the police under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) are admissible in court, and the statute also makes it difficult to secure bail.

The assault and robbery had taken place on April 7 at a unit of Avaada Group in Vida village in Kej tehsil, some 390 kilometres from here, a police official said on Friday, reported PTI.

“A group of 14 persons had assaulted watchmen Akash Jadhav (26) and Abhijeet Dunghav. The two were tied with bedsheets and then thrashed with sticks on the hands and legs. The accused then stole items worth Rs 12.87 lakh from the site. A probe led to the arrest of Baban Sardar Shinde (40), Dhanaji Kale (23), Mohan Hari Kale (30), and Lalasaheb Pawar (26), all residents of Beed and Dharashiv,” he said, reported PTI.

Beed police found the gang was involved in at least 11 cases of robbery, theft and serious body offences, the official said.

“Accordingly, Superintendent of Beed Navneet Kanwat sent a proposal for imposing MCOCA sections in the case against the accused. The proposal was cleared by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Range Inspector General Virendra Mishra on Friday,” he said, reported PTI.

Six persons are wanted in the case, the official added.

Last year, the region was under the spotlight over the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh after he tried to stop an alleged extortion bid at a windmill project.

(With inputs from PTI)

This article first appeared on Mid Day