New Delhi: The gang-rape case of a Danish woman on Thursday took a strange turn when she failed to identify three juveniles allegedly involved in the crime, with the prosecution telling the Juvenile Justice Board here that their tender age has turned her sympathetic towards them.
Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava said that in the in-camera proceedings before Presiding Officer Vishal Singh, the 52-year-old victim identified her robbed articles, including her hand purse, which were recovered from the possession of the accused.
However, the victim, who had identified three of the six adult accused in the trial court, said she has not seen the three juveniles before.
"It is incorrect," was her answer to the question by the prosecutor that "these three juveniles are the real culprits who did the crime with you".
As he did not receive an affirmative answer, Shrivastava asked the presiding officer to take on record that she was "resiling from her earlier statement" and was permitted to cross-examine her.
He urged the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to declare the woman "hostile" and during the cross examination, he asked her "if she has developed sympathy towards the minors after seeing their tender age."
However, the victim said "it is wrong to suggest that she has developed sympathy towards them."
The woman also narrated the entire incident of January 14, 2014 before the JJB.
Apart from the victim, the JJB also recorded statements of two Danish police officers, who during the day also testified before a trial court.
Delhi police, in its chargesheet, had said the nine accused, all vagabonds, had allegedly robbed and gang-raped the Danish tourist at knife-point on the night of January 14, 2014 after leading her to a secluded spot close to the Divisional Railway Officers' Club near New Delhi Railway Station. The accused included three juveniles.
