MUMBAI: A businessman who stood accused of kidnapping and raping a 17-year-old college girl has been acquitted. The sessions court trying him observed that the girl had made contradictory statements in her deposition and to doctors during her medical examination.
The Santacruz businessman had been charged under the stringent POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and was behind bars for three years, since the day of his arrest.
According to the prosecution, when the alleged crime occurred, the girl was in Class XI. The businessman,
Imran Khan (31), lived in the vicinity. When the girl's father found that the two used to speak on phone frequently, he took her away from the city for some time. On February 6, 2015, while he was at work, his wife called him and said their daughter had run away. The father filed a missing complaint with the police. The police said the girl had been kidnapped, detained at different places, including in Bandra, UP and Hyderabad, and raped. A chargesheet was filed against Khan, invoking charges of kidnap and rape.
Six witnesses were examined in court, including the girl, her father and two police officers. The girl said in her deposition that Khan used to follow her and told her he liked her. She said she hadn't confided in her family about the matter. She said that on February 6, 2015, Khan called her to
Juhu garden. But her father said during his cross-examination that he was aware of the relationship. The court observed that the girl had clearly left her house and accompanied Khan on her own and that her father corroborated that she left home because of her relationship with Khan.
Regarding the alleged rape, the girl told the court that the day she met Khan at Juhu garden, he took her to a room in Bandra where he detained her for three days and forced her to get intimate with him. She said he then took her to UP, where she was detained for three months, after which she was taken to Hyderabad. The court was told that when the girl turned 18, Khan, who was already married, tied the knot with her and brought her to Mumbai.
But during her medical examination, the girl told doctors that she had an affair with Khan and had lived with him at different places. She told the doctors that she did not wish to be medically examined. The court observed that her deposition about forcible intercourse could not be believed.
On August 7, sessions judge DS Deshmukh passed an order acquitting Khan of all charges. He was asked to furnish a fresh bond of Rs 5,000 with surety of the same amount. "He is relieved with the acquittal order," his lawyer
Nazneen Khatri said.
Picture for representational purpose only.
