HYDERABAD: Lack of a ‘main witness’ in a case of kidnapping and molestation of an eight-year-old girl registered at RGI Airport PS, under Cyberabad commissionerate in 2017, led to the acquittal of the alleged accused.
A city court which delivered the judgement recently allowed the alleged accused to walk free by noting that on overall consideration of the evidence placed by the prosecution, it was crystal clear that all the witnesses who were examined were only hearsay evidence.
The court found the alleged accused, a 24-year-old hotel worker, not guilty for the offence under Sections 363 and 354 of IPC and Section 7, read with Section 8, of the POCSO Act.
“On overall analysis of the evidence placed, I do not see any clear and cogent evidence to conclude that the accused has committed the said offence. Hence, for the said reason, I hold that the prosecution as failed to prove the guilt of the accused,” concluded the magistrate while acquitting the accused.
During March 2017, when the victim’s mother sent her to purchase tomatoes from a nearby market, the alleged accused forcefully took her into the nearby bushes and attempted to strip her. But hearing the victim’s cry for help, passersby rushed to her rescue and caught the accused.
The prosecution submitted that a garbage collector had first seen the victim with the accused and only after he alerted the passersby, they gathered at the spot. However, during the trials, the court pointed out that the prosecution did not examine the garbage collector.