Here's a rundown of the recent court decision involving Roshan Pagare and others who were accused in a serious crime in Nashik.
On November 10, 2020, Roshan Pagare and four others were found guilty by the Additional Sessions Judge in Nashik for their involvement in a murder case. They were charged with serious crimes, including murder, and were given sentences ranging from six months to life, along with fines.
The incident happened on the night of August 17, 2017, around 10:00 p.m. near Happy Games Zone, Kala Nagar, Nashik. Nikhil More was attacked by several people, including John Kajale and Arif Qureshi, using weapons like sickles and a gun. His friends, Suraj Khode and Amol Nikam, were also hurt while trying to help him.
The prosecution called 20 witnesses, including three people who claimed to have seen the incident: Suraj Khode, Amol Nikam, and Sachin Kadam. However, the trial court found issues with Sachin Kadam's story and wasn't sure if he was actually there.
The defense said the evidence from the two injured eyewitnesses couldn't be trusted because their stories didn't match up and there was a history of bad blood between the groups. They pointed out that the weapons were never found, and the gun report didn't show anything.
On December 1, 2025, Judges Manish Pitale and Manjusha Deshpande of the Bombay High Court found the accused not guilty. They decided there wasn't enough evidence to prove the accused were involved in the crime for sure. The court noticed several problems, like not finding the weapons and no independent witnesses, which led to their decision.
"The evidence falls short of proving that the accused in the present case, including the appellants herein, could be said to be responsible for the incident."
The court ordered the release of Roshan Pagare and the others, stating there wasn't enough believable evidence and that they might have been wrongly accused because of past conflicts. This decision shows how important reliable evidence is in proving someone guilty in criminal trials.
