The Mumbai Sessions court has acquitted a 70-year-old man from a rape case registered in 1984 by the mother of the then 15-year-old victim.
The Falkland Road resident had been absconding since 1986 and a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him was executed only on May 7, 2024, when he was nabbed in Uttar Pradesh.
The prosecution’s case in 1984 was registered by the mother of the then 15-year-old girl at DB Marg police station. The victim at that time was studying in an Urdu-medium school. The accused was known to the victim’s family members as he was residing in their area. The victim left the house saying that she was going to the public bathroom, but did not return home. The mother searched everywhere but could not find her. Thereafter, she lodged a missing person’s complaint and a case for kidnapping was also registered against an unknown person.
During the course of the investigation, the prosecution alleged that the accused had kidnapped her and raped her. The section dealing with rape was also added in the case, and the police also filed a chargesheet.
In court, the accused had pleaded “not guilty” and came to be tried. There were some eyewitnesses, police, medical, panch and expert witnesses that the prosecution had cited to nail the accused.
However, a relative of the victim informed the court that the accused and the victim had a love affair, and later got married and had four children. They used to live in Agra and that the victim’s mother, the victim herself and two of the four children that she gave birth to, had passed away during all those years.
Judge Madhurima Deshpande noted that, “As the matter is too old, maximum witnesses of the prosecution are either not traceable or expired.”
Since the accused at this age was nabbed by police and was behind bars, the court gave “top priority” to disposing of the case. In four hearings, the court concluded that, “There is no iota of evidence on record to show that the accused kidnapped the minor victim and committed forcible sexual intercourse with her.”