MUMBAI: A 24-year-old city resident who has spent over two years in jail for allegedly repeatedly raping his 16-year-old sister has been acquitted after the minor told the special Pocso court that she had lodged the FIR against him in anger and was tutored by her boyfriend. The girl told the court that she was upset that her brother was always reprimanding her for going out with her boyfriend and for trying to convince her that he may cheat her. With the girl turning hostile during her deposition, the court observed that she may not have supported the prosecution’s case as she was related to the accused.
“The building of the prosecution case has collapsed because of contradictory and untrustworthy testimony of the victim informant. Prosecution witness 1 might not have supported the prosecution case because of inter se relation between the victim girl and the accused..,” the court said.
The court pointed out that during the bail plea of the accused before Bombay high court too, the family had submitted an affidavit supporting his plea. But the high court had rejected the bail application.
“Victim informant has not supported her earlier statement given by her before the investigating machinery. She resiled from her own statement so I am constrained to hold that because of the contradictory, unbelievable testimony and insufficient evidence, the offences have not been proved against the accused beyond all reasonable doubt,” the court said.
The girl had initially told the police that the accused had raped her in August 2017 when her mother was on the night shift and her father was away in Bengaluru overseeing the construction of their second home. She said that this was repeated in November 2018 following which she confided in her father.
It was alleged that since her parents only reprimanded the accused but did not complain to the police, she went to the police station in February 2019 and an FIR was lodged. However, before the court she said, “I lodged this complaint against my brother as he was beating me. I used to roam with my boyfriend so my brother used to shout at me.”
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