Mumbai: The special POCSO court has acquitted a 30-year-old man booked in July 2016 for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor girl. The man was acquitted after the girl testified that she had left the house because of the frequent fights at home with her stepfather.
As per the prosecution case, the victim, a standard 12 student, was staying with her mother and her stepfather. On July 26, 2016, while the mother and stepfather were away, the girl left her house. The mother had lodged a missing complaint with Kanjurmarg police station.
Girl's Mother Registered Rape Complaint:
On August 2, 2016, the girl was traced at the house of the accused who was a family friend. The mother then registered a case of rape and sexual assault against the accused. The accused was arrested on August 30, 2016 and later was granted bail on December 15, 2016.
Girl's Testimony Clears Man:
The girl in her testimony did not mention about kidnapping or sexual assault. The girl in fact said that her stepfather was addicted to liquor and there were frequent quarrels in her family. On July 26, 2016 she left home with the accused and went to the house of the accused at Virar. She stayed there for 7-8 days.
With this the court noted, “There is nothing in the oral evidence of victim which will show that the accused has forcefully taken the victim to his house or there is any kind of sexual assault on the victim girl by the accused.”
