Mumbai court tells cops to further probe complaint by woman who alleged harassment at Sanjay Raut's behest

Sanjay Raut | File Pic

A magistrate court here has asked the police to further investigate a case filed by a woman alleging she was harassed and stalked by some people at the behest of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, and rejected an 'A-summary' report filed by cops while pointing out loopholes in the probe, according to an order made available on Wednesday.

Chief metropolitan magistrate S B Bhajipale had rejected the summary report of the police on November 18 and a detailed order in the matter was made available now.

An 'A-summary' report is a document where the police seek to close a probe in a case, where they find that although an offence is made out, there isn't enough evidence against the accused.

The magistrate, in his order, said the investigating officer miserably failed to take into account that prior to the alleged incident dated June 29, 2013, earlier also on May 16, 2013, a similar assault was made out on the complainant.

The 39-year-old complainant herself provided the names of suspicious persons, but the investing officer never examined them, the order said.

The court noted it is a well settled principle that a first information report (FIR) is not an encyclopedia. There are different factors, which may compel some omissions in the FIR.

A vigilant investigating officer records supplementary statement of a complainant and verifies its truthfulness, the magistrate noted.

However, in the current case, no attempt was made by the investigating officer to that effect, the court observed.

In such circumstances, there is a scope for further investigation into the allegations of the woman complainant, the court added.

In the past, Raut has refuted the allegations of stalking and harassment.

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