E-Paper
Man acquitted of rape as judge finds complaint suspicious
The district court has acquitted man accused of rape after the complaint appeared to be suspicious, and lodged against the accused to settle some family dispute.
The district court has acquitted man accused of rape after the complaint appeared to be suspicious, and lodged against the accused to settle some family dispute.
As per the prosecution version, the complainant, a teacher, had lodged an FIR at Jarcha police station stating on August 14, he had gone to school as usual. His 30-year-old wife was at home. Around11.30am, their neighbour entered the house and, at knifepoint, raped the woman. Her screams alerted her family members and seeing them, the accused ran away.
Jarcha police registered a case against the accused under the IPC sections 452,376 and 511. On August 2, 2016, a charge sheet was filed against him. The accused pleaded innocence and claimed that he was being framed.
The victim in her statement said the neighbour had “raped her at knifepoint”. “I tried to scream for help, but no one heard me. When he was fleeing after raping me, I screamed again and two of my family members came to my rescue. They tried to catch him, but he jumped over the wall and fled,” she said.
The doctor who conducted her medical examination, however, ruled out rape.
The court observed that the complaint seemed suspicious as witnesses had made contradictory statements. Further, though the incident happened during the day, there was no single witness to the incident from the village, other than family members of the complainant.
“The accused claimed that the two families had a falling out over littering and that the complaint against him was motivated. Additional district judge Niranjan Kumar then acquitted the accused,” Harish Shishodia, assistant district government counsel, said.
