Defence claims guard didn’t plan to rape Pallavi

Rubbishing the allegation of attempt to rape against Sajjad Mogul, his advocate claimed that the security guard had planned to rob 25-year-old budding lawyer Pallavi Purkhayastha on August 9 and had no intentions of raping her. HT reports.

Rubbishing the allegation of attempt to rape against Sajjad Mogul, his advocate claimed that the security guard had planned to rob 25-year-old budding lawyer Pallavi Purkhayastha on August 9 and had no intentions of raping her.

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The prosecution, at the previous hearing on December 27, had filed a draft of proposed charges against Mogul, adding the charge of attempt to rape (section 376 (rape) read with 511 (attempt to commit a crime) of the Indian Penal Code) along with charges of murder (section 302 of the IPC) and house trespass (section 449 of the IPC).

Purkhayastha, an advisor with filmmaker Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment Pvt, was found lying in a pool of blood in her apartment at Himalayan Heights, Wadala, by her live-in partner Avik Sengupta.

Objecting to the charges proposed by the prosecution, advocate Wahab Khan, who represents Mogul, argued that there was no evidence to show that his client attempted to rape Purkhayastha.

“There was no supporting witness or any concrete evidence to support that Mogul went there to rape her,” Khan argued.

Nikam relied on the statement of two witnesses who said that Mogul would often pass lewd comments at Purkhayastha.

Nikam further argued that they do not have direct evidence to prove attempt to rape, but are relying on circumstantial evidence.

The judge has, after hearing both sides, said that charges will be framed next week.