Bahraich (UP), Oct 17 (PTI) A local court here has acquitted a woman and another accused, who were facing trial on charges of poisoning, which allegedly led to the death of her two-year-old nephew and four others falling ill in 2021.
The woman has been jailed since August 2021.
In a judgement delivered on October 15, Additional District and Sessions Judge Shelly Roy acquitted Ankita Jaiswal and co-accused Dilip Kumar Patel after finding the circumstantial evidence insufficient, defence counsel Munnu Lal Mishra told PTI on Saturday.
Mishra said a case was registered against Ankita on August 23, 2021, at the Kotwali Dehat police station under Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, et cetera, with intent to commit an offence), 307 (attempt to murder), and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. During the investigation, Dilip Kumar Patel was named as an accused.
According to the prosecution, Ankita was married to Puran Jaiswal in December 2020. Her in-laws alleged that she wanted to get rid of her husband and his family, as she wished to marry someone else.
It was alleged that on the morning after Raksha Bandhan in August 2021, Ankita added poison to the tea prepared for her in-laws and guests at the house. After consuming the tea, five family members — including her two-year-old nephew — fell ill and were admitted to the district hospital, where the child passed away during treatment.
Mishra said the prosecution could neither present any eyewitness nor prove the alleged relationship between Ankita and Dilip.
At the time of the verdict, Ankita was lodged in the district jail, while Dilip was out on bail, he said.
Mishra said a significant aspect of the case was that Ankita, due to financial and other constraints, was unable to appoint a private lawyer. Consequently, she was provided free legal aid under the government’s ‘Legal Aid Defence Counsel’ system. PTI COR NAV RUK
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