JOIN USIn an unexpected twist, the victim in the much-publicised Patna sex scandal case has sought the court’s permission to marry the rapist.
The Dalit girl, daughter of a former Congress minister, had accused Nikhil Priyadarshi, a young businessman, of rape and running a sex racket in Patna. Priyadarshi is the son of retired IAS officer Krishna Bihari Prasad.
The girl lodged an FIR (No. 26/16) at the SC/ST police station alleging that Nikhil, his brother Subash, his father Krishna Bihari and friends Sanjit, Brajesh Pandey and Mrinal had sexually abused her.
Following the complaint, police arrested Nikhil and his father in Uttarakhand. The duo was charged under Sections 354 and 376 of the IPC, and other Sections of the SC/ST Act besides POCSO (Protection of children from sexual offences) Act, since the girl was a minor when the crime was committed.
The father-son duo was on the run for nearly two months and was captured in March in Laxmanpur in Garhwal in Uttarakhand during vehicle checking. Their Audi was also seized.
Nikhil and Krishna Bihari were brought to Patna and produced in the court that remanded them in custody.
However, the girl had moved a compromise petition before the special judge Justice Akhilanand Dubey, who is hearing the case, saying she was ready to marry Nikhil. The petition bearing her signature said she was making a fresh appeal to start life afresh since family elders of the two sides have suggested that they reach a compromise.
Legal experts say that a compromise is difficult since the girl had filed the case under the SC/ST act and had recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), when she was a minor. “In a rape case, that too under SC/ST Act, the various sections are non-compoundable, which essentially means there is no scope for compromise,” a senior lawyer said.