State of Maharashtra vs Sanket Nivrutti Kurangale — 47/2024

Summary In this criminal case (Crime No. 29/2024) involving theft of a mobile phone, the court examined testimony from the investigating officer (witness no. 6). The investigating officer's account of the investigation—including recovery of the stolen phone, collection of CDR records, and arrest of accused Sanket Kurangle—was largely accepted. However, during cross-examination, significant discrepancies emerged: the IMEI number on the phone's bill did not match the stolen phone's IMEI, the 30-day delay in filing the complaint was not adequately explained, and there was no independent verification from local residents or CCTV footage. The court accepted the witness's post-examination statement but found reasonable doubt regarding the conclusive identification of the recovered phone as the one actually stolen. Case adjourned/proceedings continued with the credibility and chain of custody of evidence questioned. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.