NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has acquitted the father and brother of a girl of the charges of repeatedly raping her, saying it was “improbable” that she could have been raped in the presence of several family members.
The court also based its acquittal order on a “big delay” in the registration of the FIR by the girl who was around 17 at the time of the alleged incident in 2015.
“About 8-10 family members of the victim and accused used to sleep together without any partition. None of them was joined in the investigation by the police. It is improbable that father and son would rape the victim in the presence of so many persons of their family,” Additional Sessions Judge Umed Singh Grewal said, acquitting the duo.
The court also termed the alleged victim’s evidence as “suffering from infirmities” owing to the girl giving different dates of the incident during her deposition.
“There is a big delay in the registration of FIR. Her evidence is improbable and is suffering from infirmities for which corroboration is required which is not coming from anywhere,” the court said.
It said the girl admitted in her cross-examination that her family members used to run a grocery shop and she also used to sit in that shop to sell groceries. “So, she is not correct in deposing that she was not allowed to go anywhere and due to that, she could not tell about the incident to anybody. She had every opportunity to tell customers about the incident,” it said.
The court said the victim and her cousin, with whose help the FIR was lodged, cannot be believed on the point that they complained to her family members. “Had they complained to family members, they might also have come to know of the incident and they would have come in the open support of them,” the court said.
Rs 2 lakh aid to Okhla minor rape victim’s kin
The Delhi Waqf Board on Saturday gave a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the family of a minor rape victim in Okhla area of South Delhi. Waqf Board Chairman Amanatullah Khan gave a cheque to the family and assured them all help in their legal battle for justice to the victim. The girl aged around 16,
a student of class 9, was raped by a local and his accomplices on December 1.
With PTI inputs