Madhya Pradesh tribal sues government for over Rs 10,000 crore for wrongful jail time

INDORE: A tribal man in MP's Ratlam - who was acquitted of gangrape charges in October 2022 -- has sued the Madhya Pradesh government, seeking a compensation of over 10,006 crore, for being jailed for 666 days on 'fake charges'.
The maximum compensation — a whopping Rs 10,000 crore — he seeks for "loss of God's gift to humans e.g sexual pleasure".
The petitioner Kantu alias Kantilal Bheel, 35, is still tormented by his ordeal in prison and said that the accusation and jail time turned his world upside down and put his wife, children and elderly mother through great pain.
Kantu told TOI, "I can't describe the suffering I went through during those two years of imprisonment. My family can't even afford innerwear. I faced extreme weather, like heat and cold, without clothes in prison."
"The jail ordeal caused a skin disease and some other ailments, including a permanent headache that torments me even after my release," he said, adding that he is the sole bread-earner for his family of six. "Imagine what they went through without me," he told TOI.
By goddess’ grace, I got out of the prison,” said Kantu, adding that he believes he got free service from a lawyer. And now he wants payback for every day locked up behind bars.
His indemnity petition accuses police of giving “false, fabricated and defamatory statements” against him and says that the false charge ruined his life and career. He seeks Rs 1 crore compensation each for loss of business and profession, loss of reputation and credit, on account of bodily harm and mental pain, loss of family life and loss of opportunities for education and career progression, and Rs 10,000 crore for “loss of God’s gift to humans e.g sexual pleasure”.
He also seeks Rs 2 lakh to cover litigation costs during his time in prison. His counsel, Vijay Singh Yadav, said the district court is scheduled to hear it on January 10. Kantu was booked by police for gang rape after a woman filed a complaint that on January 18, 2018, he took her on his bike, promising to give her a lift to her brother’s house, but instead drove to a forest where he raped her.
According to the complaint, Kantu then called co-accused Bheru Amliyar and “handed her to him”. Bheru took her towards Indore on the pretext of labour work but raped her for six months, said the prosecution.
The case was registered on July 20, 2018, against Kantu and Bheru on IPC charges 366 (kidnap) and 376 (gang rape). Kantu went on the run, say police, and was arrested on December 23, 2020. On October 10 last year, a sessions court acquitted both the accused, observing that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.