Mumbai court acquits elderly man accused of raping granddaughter, says victim testimony not reliable

Representational Pic/File

A special POCSO court has acquitted a 60-year-old man accused of raping his granddaughter as it didn't find the victim's testimony "trustworthy".

Special Judge Kalpna Patil, presiding over the court set up under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), acquitted the accused on September 5, but a detailed order was made available on Friday.

The court, in its order, said, "Considering different names given by the victim girl at different stages of the investigation and her act of hiding the name of the person who was having physical relations with her, oral evidence of the victim girl does not appears trustworthy."

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Her testimony is also not supported by any other evidence, the court noted.

As per the prosecution, the victim, a minor, resided with her grandparents. In June 2018, the girl fainted before her grandfather and was taken to a hospital, where it came to light that she was pregnant.

On June 22, 2018, she gave birth to a girl child. Thereafter, her grandfather filed a police complaint against an unknown person, it said.

During inquiry, the victim told the police she had established a physical relationship with a boy due to which she got pregnant. Later, she gave another statement, saying her grandfather had forceful sexual relations with her and also threatened her not to disclose his act to anyone else, said the prosecution.

The girl told the police she came to know about her pregnancy in October 2017. The victim also informed the police about burn injuries on her private parts allegedly inflected by the elderly relative with cigarettes or matchstick, it said.

The court order said the victim has admitted that when she missed her menstrual cycle, she disclosed this fact to her friend and went to hospital along with her friend's mother.

Then question arises as to why the victim did not disclose the misdeeds of the accused to them, it said.

The court said the victim further admitted that the accused used to leave home and stay out for some days. Also, the accused, who is her grandfather, filed a missing person complaint in 2015 when she left home without informing her family members.

Further, the court noted that the victim was out of control of the accused for some days.

Her evidence is silent as to why during that period, the victim had not approached the police against the alleged sexual harassment or burn injuries inflicted by the grandfather, asked the prosecution.

"Considering all the facts and circumstances, I have come to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed to prove the charge against the accused," the judge noted.

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