A Delhi court has convicted two persons for raping a 16-year-old girl, believing the statements of the victim and her father.
Though in her examination and cross-examinations during the trial, the victim had given contradictory statements, giving clean chit to the two accused and later proving the charges against the accused, yet the court relied upon her evidence to convict the two accused, Sunder and Ajay alias Kalia.
The prosecution’s charges against the accused persons were that they had kidnapped and raped her by turn in different periods. The prosecution alleged that the victim was first kept with Ajay and five months later she was handed over to Sunder.
Believing the statement of the victim, Additional Sessions Judge Mahesh Chander Gupta said: “On a conjoint reading of the narration of the prosecutrix, it is clearly indicated that she had deposed the truth during the course of her cross-examination on behalf of the accused and her examination-in-chief becomes dependable part of her testimony.”
“I, therefore, hold accused Sunder guilty for the offence punishable under Section 376 (rape) and accused Ajay alias Kalia under 376 read with Section 109 (abetment of any offence) of the IPC and convict them thereunder,” the Judge said in his 130-page judgment.
The girl had gone missing in 2010. Her father had earlier lodged a missing report. Having failed in his efforts to trace her, he had later lodged an FIR with the Narela police in West Delhi. The accused persons also challenged their prosecution citing delay in lodging of the case. But the court dismissed it, citing the Indian tradition where women reluctantly come out against sexual assaults on them.
