Man arrested in two-year-old rape case acquitted

A judge, Fast Track Special Court, Chandigarh, has acquitted a person arrested in a rape and POCSO case after the prosecution failed to prove charges. The victim also did not support the case of the prosecution.

The police had registered the case against the accused on January 1, 2023, on a complaint of the mother of the victim. She said that she resides in a jhuggi in a colony, of Chandigarh along with six children. She further said her elder daughter, aged 16, left home one day without informing anyone.

When she and her husband were searching for her, they found the two in a jungle near the railway station. The accused managed to flee. On being asked, their daughter told them that the accused has developed physical relations with her on the pretext of marriage. A medical examination of the victim was also conducted.

Counsel of the accused denied allegations. He said that the medical reports had found nothing against the accused and the complainant had also not supported the case of the prosecution.

After hearing the arguments the court said the victim while appearing before the court had shattered the prosecution case by claiming that she was a major and had herself went along with accused and her relations with him were consensual. Consequently, the accused is acquitted of the charges, it said.