Thane, Jun 23 (PTI) A special court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted a man accused of raping a seven-year-old girl and outraging the modesty of her 73-year-old grandmother, citing unreliable evidence and procedural lapses.
Special judge G T Pawar on Monday acquitted Dinesh Shantaram Hule alias Ghule, who faced charges under sections 376 (rape), 354 (outraging modesty), 452 (house trespass) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to the prosecution, Hule trespassed into the victims’ house in Thane on October 3, 2021 and molested the grandmother and sexually assaulted the child, who were asleep.
The defence, however, argued that the case was falsely fabricated due to a prior dispute over water leakage.
Highlighting a major infirmity in the trial, the judge observed that the failure to examine the investigating officer, who had passed away, severely prejudiced the defence.
The court also found stark differences between the child’s narrative given to the Child Welfare Committee and her statement to the police, pointing toward tutoring.
“The story of aggravated penetrative sexual assault by accused with second victim seems to be after thought as initially the FIR was registered for the offence under sections 354 and 452 of the Indian Penal Code,” it noted. PTI COR ARU
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