Friends accused of kidnapping and raping a minor acquitted

Two friends, accused of abducting and raping a minor girl, have been acquitted by a fast track court here on ground that "star" witnesses, including alleged victim and her father, have turned hostile.

New Delhi: Two friends, accused of abducting and raping a minor girl, have been acquitted by a fast track court here on the ground that the "star" witnesses, including the alleged victim and her father, have turned hostile. Fast Track Court`s Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat let off Delhi resident Lucky and Deepak saying the girl had "voluntarily accompanied" the accused and they had not "lured" her to accompany them.

"From the testimony of the girl, it is evident that she had voluntarily accompanied the accused. There had been no enticement or inducement on the part of the accused. There is not even a slightest indication that the accused had lured the prosecutrix to accompany them. "In fact, prosecutrix has specifically deposed that she had called accused Lucky. She also deposed that none of the accused had committed rape upon her," the judge said. The two were facing trial for allegedly abducting and raping their neighbour on false pretext of marrying her. According to the prosecution, the girl had gone missing from her house on February 3, 2012. Her father had initially lodged a missing report of his daughter. He had also expressed his suspicion before the police that his daughter has been lured away by Lucky as he is also missing from his house. The prosecution further stated that during the probe, the girl was found to be with Lucky 15 days after the incident was reported. While acquitting the duo, the judge also noted that the victim eloped with the accused Lucky to Agra on her own will. "She told the police that she had gone to Agra with the accused. She specifically stated that nothing more had happened with her. She also stated that she had never seen accused Deepak," the court said. It added that the victim and her father was examined as prosecution witnesses but "both of them have turned hostile and did not support the case of the prosecution at all". PTI