Couple acquitted in case of voluntarily causing hurt

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 21

Four years after an alleged fight over a dog’s poop that reportedly led to the death of an elderly man, his neighbour-couple was today acquitted by a court in a case of voluntarily causing hurt.

According to the prosecution, Vijay Kumar and his wife Sunita Devi, residents of Palsora village in Sector 39, were booked under Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 of the IPC on January 6, 2015, on the complaint of Baljit Singh (39), also a resident of Palsora village.

In his complaint, Baljit stated that around 10.30 am, he came to know that that a fight had taken place between his father Kaka Singh and their neighbours Vijay Kumar and his wife Sunita Devi. When he reached there, Vijay was pulling off his father’s beard, while Sunita had caught hold of his father and Vijay’s sister was hitting him on his back. Around 23 minutes after his father was rescued, he fell down on the road. He was taken to a private hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

About the cause of the fight, the complainant stated that Vijay’s pet dog had poop at the construction material lying outside their house. When his father objected to it, Vijay entered into a fight with him.

The court had earlier converted Section 304 to Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC after going through the facts in the case. The defence counsel argued that the couple was falsely implicated in the case.

After hearing the arguments, the court acquitted the couple as the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.