Hostile minor facilitates acquittal of rape accused

Additional district and sessions judge Shalini S Nagpal on Saturday acquitted a 20-year-old youth of rape charges, as the victim turned hostile. The UT police had on December 14, 2012, booked Karan on the complaint of a Bapu Dham resident, who had accused him of raping and kidnapping her 16-year-old granddaughter.

Additional district and sessions judge Shalini S Nagpal on Saturday acquitted a 20-year-old youth of rape charges, as the victim turned hostile.

The UT police had on December 14, 2012, booked Karan on the complaint of a Bapu Dham resident, who had accused him of raping and kidnapping her 16-year-old granddaughter.

However, the victim in her testimony before the court denied being raped and accused her grandmother of “trying to marry her off to an aged man, thus forcing her to elope with Karan of her own will”.

The victim in her statement recorded before the court in May 2013 had said, “My grandmother wanted to marry me to an aged person and to avoid marrying someone who is older than me, I eloped with Karan whom I loved.”

The victim also told the court that she had married Karan and even expressed her will to stay with him rather than her grandmother.

After the girl went missing in December 2012, the UT Police, on her grandmother's complaint had lodged a missing report at the Sector-26 police station. Later, it came to light that Karan, who also resided in Bapu Dham, eloped with the girl on the pretext of marrying her.