MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar acquitted

Aurangabad, Sept 29:

Beed sitting MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar who had been booked in 2001 for altering answer sheets while studying engineering was acquitted on Wednesday by joint civil judge P R Shinde due to lack of strong evidence.

The then controller of examinations of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU) Dr Madhav Gumaste, on September 25, 2001 had lodged a complaint in the Chawni police station after the security guard guarding the badminton hall of the university informed him that someone had stolen the engineering answer sheet number 111080 from the hall and replaced it with a fake answer sheet between September 12 and 13, 2001.

The answer sheet belonged to Kshirsagar. The then PI S B Shirsath had filed a charge sheet on May 12, 2003. During the hearing, adv K G Bhosale representing Kshirsagar informed the court that the badminton hall was heavily guarded. No one could go there to change the answer sheet. The statement of the guard is not recorded. According to experts, Sandeep's signature did not match the one on the altered answer sheet. After the hearing, the court gave the above orders.