A Raipur court has acquitted gangster Aman Sahu and six other accused in a case related to an alleged conspiracy to commit robbery and extortion, citing the prosecution's failure to establish the charges during trial. The judgment was delivered on August 18, 2026, by the Third Additional District and Sessions Court in Raipur, according to the case information provided. Sahu had died in a police encounter in Jharkhand about 18 months earlier, but his name remained part of the criminal case registered at Ganj police station. The other accused were Rohit Swarnkar, Mukesh Kumar, Devendra Singh, Rajber Singh, Pappu Singh alias Papsa and Sunil Kumar alias Sunil Kumar Meena alias Mayank Singh.
The case was registered under IPC Sections 399, 402, 386 and 120-B. According to the prosecution's earlier account, Raipur Police had arrested four people in May 2024 on allegations that they were preparing to carry out a major criminal operation in the city and were connected to the Aman Sahu gang. Police had also linked the alleged planning to Mayank Singh, who was accused at the time of operating the gang from abroad. Rohit Swarnkar was reportedly arrested with a pistol and magazine, while Rajber Singh Chawla was later arrested in Madhya Pradesh in connection with the alleged supply of the weapon. The case also involved provisions of the Arms Act.
Prosecution Failed to Prove Charges
According to defence lawyer Dipankar Banerjee, the prosecution was unable to establish the alleged conspiracy, possession or role of the accused with sufficient evidence during the trial. Questions were also raised over the identity of the person whom police had linked to the case as Mayank Singh. The defence argued that the prosecution could not conclusively establish that the person identified in the investigation as Mayank Singh was the same person as Sunil Kumar Meena. The defence further maintained that the alleged recovery of weapons did not establish the charges against the accused to the required standard.
The court ultimately acquitted all seven accused. The case record reportedly carries the status “contested-acquitted”. However, the detailed judgment or order copy had not been uploaded on the court website at the time of the supplied report. Therefore, the precise reasoning adopted by the court and the evidence it found insufficient can be established in full only after the detailed order becomes available. The acquittal in this particular case does not mean that allegations in other criminal cases involving the accused have been judicially disproved.
Aman Sahu Died in 2025
Aman Sahu had been arrested in connection with cases in Raipur and was later taken to Jharkhand by police in March 2025. During the journey, he was killed in a police encounter in Palamu. Police had then claimed that Sahu attempted to escape and was killed during the ensuing exchange of fire. His death brought an end to the possibility of a trial against him personally, but the proceedings in the Raipur case continued in relation to the remaining accused and the legal record associated with the case.
The Ganj police case was initially heard from September 2024 and was subsequently transferred to the court that conducted the trial. The August 18 judgment now closes the case with the acquittal of all seven accused. With the detailed order still awaited, the available information indicates that the prosecution could not prove the alleged robbery and extortion conspiracy beyond the required legal standard. The development is significant because the case was among those in which Raipur Police had alleged links to the wider Aman Sahu gang network.
