Sucha Singh Langah
Former Cabinet minister in the previous SAD-BJP government and former MLA from Dera Baba Nanak, Sucha Singh Langah, has been acquitted in a rape case registered against him in Gurdaspur last year.
Additional Session Judge, Gurdaspur, Prem Kumar acquitted Langah in the rape case on Monday as public prosecutor failed to prove allegations against him in court. Langah’s supporters celebrated his acquittal outside the court.
Coming out of the court, Langah alleged that he was implicated in false case by Congress party to win Gurdaspur elections. He said, “It was clear from the very first day that I was implicated in the rape case by the Congress party. Case was registered against me just before Gurdaspur bypoll. Congress knew that I would harm them not only on in my assembly constituency Dera Baba Nanak, but all over the Gurdaspur. So they slapped this case against me and ousted me from Gurdaspur bypoll. I was defamed to take advantage during elections.”
Langah, who was excommunicated from Sikh community by Akal Takht after the registration of case, now plans to make an appeal to Akal Takht for taking him back to the community fold.
He said, “I will approach Akal Takht to request revision of its verdict against me. Now, it has been proved that case was false and I am innocent. So, I am hopeful that Akal Takht will take me back in community.”
Langah was booked for rape, cheating, ransom and criminal conspiracy under Sections 376, 420, 384 and 506 on the statement of a woman on September 29, 2017 — just at the time when campaign for the Gurdaspur parliamentary bypoll had just picked up. Gurdaspur bypoll was being held after the death of sitting MP Vinod Khanna, and Congress had fielded its state president Sunil Jakhar from the seat. The rape case against Langah and police investigation had dominated the campaigning.
Later, the woman complainant in the rape case made a U-turn from all her statements, four months after the FIR had been registered against Langah.
The woman then told the court that she had made no complaint of rape with the police and all her statements produced in court were either fake or taken under pressure.
The complainant had also claimed that she was not the woman in the purported video that went viral just before the bypoll. Police had used the video as evidence in the case against Langah and claimed that woman had herself submitted the video to police as evidence of her alleged physical relations with Langah. A total of 23 witnesses were produced by public prosecutor against Langah along with the woman.