Woman asks rape victim not to identify accused, held

A woman, heard by a court staff coaxing a 75-year-old rape victim against identifying her alleged rapist, has been ordered to be prosecuted by the judge under a new penal provision for intimidating witnesses.

A woman, heard by a court staff coaxing a 75-year-old rape victim against identifying her alleged rapist, has been ordered to be prosecuted by the judge under a new penal provision for intimidating witnesses.

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The woman, Renu, had accompanied the victim to court.

Additional sessions judge Kamini Lau also asked the victim’s daughter Shakuntla to explain as to why she too should not be prosecuted for coaxing her mother against identifying the accused Pahlad.

Renu was handed over to police custody so she could be produced before a magisterial court after the judge’s document keeper Pramod Kumar, informed her about the coaxing incident inside the court.

While ordering the prosecution of the woman, the judge sent the alleged rape victim to an Old Age Home to insulate her from influences of her family members against their possible bids to influence her.