*Court passes strictures against IO
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 14: The court of Principal Sessions Judge Anantnag has acquitted one Bashir Ahmad Doie of Kishtwar in a criminal case registered against him and six other accused at one of the police stations in Anantnag district for the commission of offences under Sections 363, 376, 109 IPC and 3/2 POCSO Act.
The court, while acquitting the accused, has also passed strictures against the Investigating Officer of the case for conducting a perfunctory investigation, which led to the acquittal of the accused in the serious offence of POCSO, which involves a child as a victim of the offence.
The court has directed SSP Anantnag to take account of the lapses in the investigation as pointed out in the judgment and proceed accordingly.
The accusation against the accused was that when the child victim was on her way to learn tailoring skills, she was kidnapped by the accused persons in a vehicle and taken to an unknown place. There she remained in the illegal custody of the accused for around 16 days and then recovered. During the period of her illegal custody she was continuously abused both physically and sexually by the accused.
The trial in the case went on for around five years in the court of Principal Sessions Judge Anantnag Tahir Khurshid Raina. During this whole trial, the accused continuously remained lodged in the District Jail Anantnag.
The court, in the judgment, has held that all the foundational facts like kidnapping, illegal custody and recovery of the victim have not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecution as per the charges framed against the accused by the court. Even the medical evidence has negated the claim of prosecution case against the accused. Moreover, as held in the judgment, there is a sharp contradiction between the version of the victim to that of the case of the prosecution against the accused.
The court has held that though it is true that the conviction of the accused can be based on the sole statement of the prosecutrix, provided her evidence inspires the confidence in the court. The court held that once the version of the victim and the versions of all the material witnesses, including that of the Investigating Officer of the case are altogether different on all important incriminating facts then it will be quite unsafe to convict the accused solely on the basis of an uncorroborated and untrustworthy version of the victim.
With these remarks, the court acquitted the accused.
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