New Delhi: Seven men, facing trial for gang
raping a woman in a hotel in Gurgaon five years ago, have been
acquitted by a Delhi court as the victim made a volte face and
said she was never raped.
"Making allegations of gang rape against accused persons
and then deposing that she was never raped by anyone of the
present (seven) accused, is enough to hold that the woman can
not be believed and her testimony cannot be considered
trustworthy," said Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna
letting off the seven.
"No case under section 376(2)(g) (gang rape) of the IPC
is said to be proved against the accused persons," he said.
They had been accused of raping the woman in Paramount
Hotel in Gurgaon on the pretext of giving her a job. They were
Vijender, Vinod Kumar, Aman Singh, Pawan Kumar and Jai Kumar
of Vasant Kunj in South Delhi and Gurgaon residents Balbir
Singh and Anil, according to the prosecution.
"In her statement (to the police), she (woman) had
levelled allegations of rape against all the accused persons.
However, in her statement as prosecution witness, she deposed
that she was not raped at all," the judge said.
The prosecution had told the court that Vijender was
known to the woman, a resident of Vasant Kunj, and used to
visit her house when her husband was lodged in Tihar Jail. He,
along with Aman, had taken her to the hotel in Gurgaon on May
28, 2006 in a car on the pretext of getting her a job and
other accused persons joined them in the hotel, it had said.
The woman had told police that the accused gave her cold
drink laced with sedatives and she became unconscious after
consuming it. She had added when she regained consciousness,
she found she had been raped by the accused.
PTI
