Thane: Observing that mere presence at a site is insufficient to establish possession or ownership, a sessions court recently acquitted a resident of Kausa, Mumbra, who was accused of running a counterfeit currency racket from a shop in 2019.As per the prosecution, police found 115 fake notes of Rs 500 denomination and several tools used for counterfeiting at a shop. Adil Amjad Mansuri, who was present at the site, was assumed to have been operating the shop and arrested. But the prosecution failed to submit any ownership document or tenancy record linking him directly to it.Besides, a panch witness turned hostile and another witness said he was under the impression he was called only to take photos. No CCTV footage or independent proof of the raid was presented. Additional sessions judge Amit M Shete also raised concerns over the prosecution’s failure to produce all 115 counterfeit notes; only a sample of four notes was sent for analysis.—Nishikant Karlikar