Thane: A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Monday reserved its order till May 21 in a 2008 case related to the alleged assault on Railway Recruitment Board examinees at Kalyan station by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists.Eight persons, including MNS chief Raj Thackeray, are named as accused in the case. Two of the accused died during the pendency of the trial.After hearing final arguments from the prosecution and defence, Chief Judicial Magistrate Abhijit Kulkarni posted the matter for orders on May 21, a court official said.Appearing for Thackeray and the other accused, advocates Sailesh Sadekar, Sayaji Nagare and Shubham Kanade argued that the prosecution case was “baseless” and riddled with contradictions.The defence contended that neither the chargesheet nor oral evidence established the presence of Raj Thackeray at the spot of the alleged incident.They also argued that the prosecution failed to produce any evidence of provocative speeches allegedly made by him.The defence pointed to discrepancies in the timing and conduct of the panchnama, as well as contradictions in statements of police witnesses regarding the arrest of one accused.The prosecution witnesses also could not identify the alleged accused, the defence submitted in court.They further argued that although the prosecution claimed nearly 150 students appeared for the railway examination, no admit cards, identity proofs or related records were produced before the court.
