Two men accused of assaulting girl let off
Two men, accused of assaulting a girl who refused their sexual advances, have been acquitted by a Delhi court after the victim and two eye-witnesses failed to testify.
Two men, accused of assaulting a girl who refused their sexual advances, have been acquitted by a Delhi court after the victim and two eye-witnesses failed to testify.
"In the absence of any incriminating material and lack of direct evidence, the accused cannot be convicted. They are given benefit of doubt and are acquitted of the offences charged," Metropolitan Magistrate Jyoti Kler said.
The incident took place on the intervening night of August 14 and 15, 2010, at Qutub Institutional area near Gorakhnath Mandir in Vasant Kunj, where the two accused are alleged to have forced the victim to sit in their car.
The prosecution alleged that the duo had slapped and threatened the victim when she refused to establish a physical relationship with them.
The girl, however, somehow managed to escape. She then took an auto-rickshaw and reached a police picket, from where a constable accompanied her to the spot and apprehended the duo. A charge sheet was filed against the duo in March, 2011 under Sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with the intent of outraging her odesty), 365 (kidnapping or abduction), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
The duo had pleaded not guilty to the charges. In court, the constable deposed about apprehending the duo.