Two years on, rape accused walks free

A special fast track court has acquitted a Bihar native in a rape case two years after his arrest.

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The woman in the complaint filed before the police on April 28, 2023, had alleged that the accused, Raju Kumar Prasad, a resident of Chhapra, Bihar, raped her on the pretext of marriage.

The woman had told the police that she was a resident of Kajheri village, Chandigarh. The family members of the accused proposed their marriage in 2018. Accordingly, they exchanged their mobile numbers and kept in touch with each other through social media and developed a physical relationship. The accused, however, later refused to marry her.

The woman alleged that the accused threatened to share her photographs on the Internet if she would take action against him.

After an investigation, a chargesheet was filed against the accused in the court. The counsel for the accused, however, argued that prosecution had failed to prove the charges. He said the complainant had filed the FIR four years after the alleged incident and had many contradictions in the statements.

After hearing of the arguments, the court acquitted the accused. The court said there was a delay of four years in the lodging of the FIR and the many contradictions in the statements of the complainant raised doubt over her complaint. In absence of any medical/forensic evidence to corroborate her testimony, the court said it was not convinced with her allegations of rape.