Navi Mumbai: A 32-year-old man, Monish Ashok Gharat, residing in Ulwe, was convicted and sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment for attempt to murder and fined Rs 1 lakh by the Panvel district Additional Sessions Court on July 29. The sentence followed the trial in an FIR registered against him at Nhava Sheva police station on May 31, 2023.The conviction order was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge Santosh R. Chavan after 13 prosecution witnesses were produced before the court by Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Yashwant Bhopi for recording their testimony. The chargesheet was filed against Gharat on July 28, 2023, while charges were framed against him after two years on May 5, 2025. Thereafter, on July 7, 2025, the commencement of evidence was initiated, followed by the final judgement on July 29, 2026.APP Bhopi said, “The accused was found guilty of deliberately crashing a dumper vehicle, owned by his sister Jyoti Ashok Gharat, into Ulwe police chowki twice and damaging two parked police vehicles, including the Nirbhaya Squad vehicle. He even attempted to hit a biker with a pillion rider by driving on the wrong side near Kharkopar railway station, as the pillion rider was recording him while he drove on the wrong side. Thereafter, he attempted to ram into a police jeep chasing him. The then senior inspector Sanjay Dhumal was compelled to fire two rounds at the dumper and deflate the tyres to stop it, as the accused driver Gharat went berserk after a domestic quarrel when he initially crashed the dumper into his building’s main gate.”APP Bhopi added, “The accused Gharat is entitled to the benefit of set-off vide Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, for the period of detention undergone by him. In default of payment of the Rs 1 lakh fine, the accused Gharat will suffer further rigorous imprisonment for one year, as per the court judgement.”Court constable Ashok Palkar said, “The accused Monish Gharat, after being arrested on May 31, 2023, approached the High Court seeking bail, but it was rejected. Hence, he approached the Supreme Court, where again his bail application was rejected. Hence, for the past three years, he was in jail custody as an undertrial. On May 31, 2023, Gharat quarrelled with his family members, who were annoyed with him over his criminal antecedents, as he was previously booked for thefts and brawls. Hence, he drove his sister’s dumper parked outside Balaji Darshan society in Ulwe, where he resided with his family. He attempted to enter the building when the security guard did not open the gate, as heavy vehicle parking was not allowed inside the building premises. Gharat got annoyed and crashed into the main gate. Thereafter, he went driving berserk on the street and deliberately crashed into Ulwe police chowki operating from a container, damaged two parked police vehicles and attempted to hit a biker and also attempted to crash into the police jeep chasing him.”
