The court of additional district and sessions judge Gurvinder Kaur on Thursday acquitted a retired army major of rape and related charges.
The police had alleged that Major Harish Chand Sharma (retd), around 55-year-old, sexually abused two sisters, aged 5-7, at his house in Sector 12. The FIR was registered on February 14. Some residents of the sector had even beaten him up when the allegations came up as a neighbour said the girl had told him about the sexual abuse.
During the trial, the complainant, father of the alleged victims, never appeared, neither did the girls themselves. The police did not get their statements recorded.
"We argued that the police knew the case was false, and that was why the statements (of 'victims') under section 164 of the CrPC were not recorded. Even the independent witnesses in the case submitted that nothing happened before them. The medical evidence did not prove sexual assault," said Amit Dudeja, counsel for Sharma. "A neighbour had a tiff with my client so he framed him."
Sharma was part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Keeping Force in 1987, and had even taken a bullet in the operation. After acquittal, Sharma broke into tears. He had been in custody for the past nine months.