Two brothers acquitted in gang rape case for lack of evidence

 Two brothers, who were accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in 2012, have been acquitted by a Delhi court after the alleged victim and her parents did not support the allegations levelled against them.

Additional sessions judge Illa Rawat freed Delhi residents Sonu and Sudhir of charges of gang rape and threatening the girl in June last year, saying no material witnesses, including the minor and her parents, had testified in support of the prosecution’s case.

“From the testimony of the girl as well as other material placed on record, the prosecution has failed to prove that accused Sonu and Sudhir had committed rape upon the prosecutrix, a minor girl, aged about 15 years, and has further failed to prove that they both criminally intimidated her by threatening to kill her parents,” the court said.

According to the police, on June 19 last year, Sonu and Sudhir had raped the minor girl in a field near her house here, and had threatened her that they would kill her parents if she disclosed about it to anyone.

Allegations denied

Police had said that on the basis of the girl’s statement, a case was registered against both accused.

During trial, the minor girl “completely denied” the prosecution’s case and her parents also did not support the police version regarding the lodging of any such complaint.
Police had told the court that the girl was gang raped by the brothers on June 19, and on June 23, both accused again came to her house when her mother was not there and they tried to rape her.

Fled later

According to police, the accused fled when the mother returned home and saw them, and on June 23, the mother-daughter duo had come to the police station and lodged a complaint against them.