2 accused in ’03 gang-rape case acquitted 21 yrs later
Times of India | 26 May 2025
Kolkata: A gang-rape case, reported in Amherst Street in May 2003, that came up for trial around 20 years later, in Jan 2025, led to the acquittal of two persons implicated by police.The complainant, who appeared before the Kolkata trial judge on April 24, said that two decades later, she was unable to recollect "what happened" that day and who tortured her.The trial court, in its May 23 order, while acquitting the two accused, also criticised the police for a shoddy investigation where none of the witnesses or evidence produced helped unravel the crime. Additional District and Sessions Judge Rohan Sinha, in his judgment, said, "Not a single witness examined by the prosecution could throw any light over the incident alleged. No doubt that it is a settled principle that conviction can very well be founded only over uncorroborated testimony of the victim.Unfortunately, even the victim has turned turtle from her earlier statement."The judge also pointed out three key lapses by the investigating officer (IO) which led to the acquittal. The judge said, "The victim could not identify the wrongdoers, but, curiously, the IO did not try to get the accused persons to face any Test Identification Parade for their identification." The judge also noted that despite the fact that the victim gave an in-camera testimony to a judicial magistrate, her 164 CrPC statement was not produced in court. Lastly, the Amherst Street OC did not bother to "sign or endorse" the victim's statement saying that she was gang-raped, which led to the FIR.The trial court also could not rely solely on the victim's testimony because she filed a formal application not to proceed with the same. The judge, in his order, recorded that the victim "firmly deposed that due to the passage of time of more than 20 years, she could not recollect exactly what happened to her on the fateful day. She also failed to disclose the identity of the accused, nor could she identify the accused persons".According to the case details, the victim was engaged as a casual labourer to work in an under-construction Rajarhat home by one of the accused. According to the FIR, which was also corroborated in the police charge sheet filed in 2004, on May 13, 2003, she was working when she was gang-raped by two persons, including the one who engaged her for work. Before this incident, the victim had asked the accused to clear her week's pending dues.Police, 20 years ago, got the victim medically examined, recorded her statement before a magistrate, and charge-sheeted four persons. Two among those named in the charge sheet were arrested, while the remaining two are still absconding.The judge, in his order, said, "A careful reading of the testimonies of the witnesses examined by this Court firmly opines that the prosecution has miserably failed to direct the needle of suspicion for the commission of the alleged offence against the accused persons, far less to prove their guilt."