MUMBAI, Dec. 7 -- The sessions court on Friday acquitted the three surviving accused in the 2011 Chembur jewellery robbery and murder case, concluding a 14-year trial after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a complete and reliable chain of circumstantial evidence. The case stems from an attack at the Dharmaraj Jewellers on PL Lokhande Road, Chembur on May 20, 2011. The owner of the shop, jeweller Pankaj Soni was found with fatal neck injuries and declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The court relied on medical evidence to conclude the death was homicidal, noting that the injuries could not have occurred "unless they were inflicted by someone". However, sessions judge SS Adkar held that although Soni's death was proved to be homicidal, the prosecution could not link the accused to the crime beyond reasonable doubt. Regarding the core charges of dacoity and murder, the court found no conclusive evidence. In its analysis, the court underlined that the prosecution's case was "purely based on circumstantial evidence" and cited the Supreme Court's requirement of a complete and unbroken chain pointing only towards guilt. The accused, Sandip Gauraji Mali, Mangesh Anant Sonar, and Sachin Damu Bansode were acquitted of charges of murder, robbery or dacoity under sections of the Indian Penal Code. Legal actions against the fourth accused, Anand Yashwant Sarvade, had been stopped after his death in 2013. The fifth accused, Sudhakar Gopal Pawar was discharged after a 2019 court order. The court found a major lapse in the case involving the identification of the seized ornaments. The ornaments were never produced before the court, and as a result, the judge held that "it cannot be presumed that they were the same articles which were stolen from the shop." Testimony that one of the accused had asked a jeweller about bullion rates on the day of the incident did not amount to incriminating conduct, especially since such visits were routine....