Thane: Court acquits priest accused of raping woman, practising black magic

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A court in Thane district has acquitted a priest who was accused of raping a woman and practising black magic on her. The court pointed out that there was inconsistency in the statement's the petitioner gave and there was lack of evidence, while acquitting the priest.

As per news wire PTI's report, additional sessions judge Amit M Shete acquitted the priest, Kuldeep Kundansinh Kuvar (31) of charges under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology Act, and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil, and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.

The order dated February 2 was made available on Saturday.

Additional Public Prosecutor S.B. More alleged that the accused had repeatedly raped the victim who was a teacher and practised black magic on her.

However, the court in its order highlighted the several inconsistencies, contradictory statements in the woman's testimony and questioned the delay in registering the case. It also pointed out the lack of corroborative evidence supporting the prosecution's charges under the Information Technology Act and the Black Magic Act, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, in another case, a court in Thane district sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for allegedly raping a six-year-old girl in 2021. As per a report in PTI, the accused was sentenced based on the survivor's declaration and the testimony of other prosecution witnesses.

The decision was given earlier this week, by Special POCSO court judge DS Deshmukh, who imposed a Rs 5,000 punishment on the 47-year-old offender, Pandurang Shelar of a village in Thane's Diva district.

According to the report, Police havildar Vidyasagar Koli, who supported the prosecution, noted that the survivor's deposition, now at the age of six, was critical in establishing the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court heard six prosecution witnesses, with the survivor's testimony being critical in gaining the conviction.

The prosecution said that the accused, who is the survivor's neighbour, lured her into his home on January 8, 2021, while she was playing outside, and then raped her. He then warned her of grave consequences if she did not remain silent about the incident.

In the decision, the judge remarked that the prosecution had successfully proven all accusations against the accused, resulting in his conviction under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

(With PTI Inputs)