A sessions court in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district on 14 February acquitted former ward councillor Shafiq Ansari, in a rape case filed against him four years ago, after finding that the woman had made false allegations.
According to media reports, ten days after the rape complaint was filed in March 2021, Ansari's house was demolished by the local authorities. His son and brother were also booked on charges of harbouring him.
"They came at 7am. The administration arrived with bulldozers and before my family members could understand anything, my house was in ruins," Ansari who currently stays at his brother's residence told Times of India.
"We had all the papers. It was alleged that the house was built without permission, but we were not provided a chance to show records or say anything. It was simply torn down. I have a family of seven. They all suffered. I went to jail for three months," he added.
Acquitting Ansari in the case, Chitrendra Singh Solanki, First Additional Sessions Judge at Rajgarh district noted that there were significant inconsistencies in the complainant's testimonies.
“The victim’s presence at the accused Shafiq Ansari’s house at the relevant time is itself doubtful. The claim of the accused establishing sexual relations with the victim is not corroborated by medical or scientific evidence. The victim has not provided any satisfactory reason for delaying informing her husband about the incident or for the delay in filing the report,” the court noted.
The court found that the woman made false allegations against Ansari to take revenge for the demolition of her house on the latter's complaint.
Municipal authorities had demolished the woman’s house after Ansari and her neighbours complained of illegal narcotics trade happening there.