Court Acquits Four Men Accused of Murdering Govandi Ration Shop Owner's Wife
On July 4, 2026, a Mumbai sessions court acquitted four men accused of murdering a ration shop owner's wife and committing robbery in the Bainganwadi area of Govandi, Mumbai, citing a lack of evidence.
The accused, who had been imprisoned since their arrest in September 2017, were cleared of all charges after the prosecution failed to establish their guilt through circumstantial evidence.
The four acquitted men are Ashok Gupta, Rahul Singh, Satyaprakash Chouhan, also known as Bablu, and Majorsingh Chouhan. They had been booked by the Shivaji Nagar police following a complaint filed by the victim's husband, Sudarshan Gupta.
According to the case background, Sudarshan and his wife, Bhanumati, operated two ration shops. Bhanumati managed the shop located at their Bainganwadi residence, while Sudarshan ran another shop at Nimboniya Baug. Satyaprakash and Ashok worked at the shop, though Ashok had been dismissed from his job about a month prior to the incident.
On September 22, 2017, at approximately 5:45 pm, Sudarshan received a phone call from Satyaprakash stating that Bhanumati was not opening the shop shutter. Upon entering the premises, Satyaprakash found Bhanumati lying in a pool of blood.
Sudarshan arrived to find utensils scattered, and an almirah and suitcase open. Cash worth Rs 1.76 lakh and gold ornaments were allegedly missing from the residence. Bhanumati was rushed to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
Sudarshan suspected Ashok of committing the crime due to a grudge over his recent dismissal. Rahul and Majorsingh, who were relatives of Satyaprakash, frequently visited the shop and were also accused.
During the trial, the sessions court held that while Bhanumati's death was homicidal, there were no eyewitnesses to the crime. The court further noted that the alleged recovery of the weapon, cash, and ornaments was doubtful.
Ultimately, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstances linking the four accused men to the murder and robbery, resulting in their acquittal after nearly nine years in prison.
