Thane court acquits man accused of raping minor due to lack of evidence

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A Thane court acquitted a man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, stated a PTI report. According to the report, the prosecution could not substantiate the charges against him which led to his acquittal.

The PTI report stated that Special Judge DS Deshmukh, in an order dated November 1, highlighted that the prosecution was unable to prove the allegations levelled against him under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

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Reportedly, the Special Public Prosecutor, Varsha Chandane had submitted to the court on March 22, 2018, that the girl, a Class 10 student, left her home stating she was meeting friends at school but did not return. Nearly six days later, the girl and the accused visited the police station where the girl alleged that the accused had raped her.

The judge's order noted that the prosecutor had declared the girl's mother a hostile witness and highlighted that she had given a statement revealing that the accused and the girl had settled the matter outside the court. The witness had also mentioned that the accused intended to marry her daughter.

Citing this information, the court considered the circumstances, leading to the dismissal of the case due to the lack of compelling evidence supporting the prosecution's allegations of rape against the accused.

In another incident from Palghar district, a POCSO court acquitted a tribal man charged with molesting a minor. According to the report, the special POCSO judge VV Virkar, in an order dated October 21, acquitted Pravin Palave (26) from Jawhar taluka, Palghar district, nearly six years after he was accused of molesting a teenage girl in November 2017. The court held that the prosecution failed to substantiate the charges against Palave beyond a reasonable doubt.

Advocate Ramrao Jagtap, representing Palave, said that his client was not involved in the alleged incident and highlighted deficiencies in the police investigation, leading to the court's decision favouring Palave's acquittal.

Concurrently, in Thane district, Special MCOCA Judge Amit M Shete, through an order on October 9, acquitted Kishor Ramesh Shinde (36), Rakesh Madanlal Lakhara (37), Joy Timir Chaudhary (42), and Santosh Devendra Padchinte (36) of charges under sections 363 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), and related provisions under the IPC and MCOCA.