Maha: Court acquits three accused of rape and extortion

A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted three people, including a woman, on charges of repeatedly raping and extorting money from a 40-year-old woman.

On April 19, Additional Sessions Judge Amit M Shete acquitted the defendant of the charges under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Additional prosecutor Sanjay B More informed the court that the victim, who is a widow, lived with her children in Kashimira and that the defendants were also from her neighborhood.

According to the prosecution, the crime occurred between 2010 and 2014, when one of the alleged defendants helped the victim financially and even offered her marriage. He then raped her on multiple occasions.

The victim then approached the accused woman, who promised to help her and demanded Rs 30,000, which the victim managed to collect by pawning her jewelry, they said.

The victim also alleged that she was repeatedly raped by another man, who was present during her meeting with the accused woman, the prosecution said.

After reviewing the evidence, the court expressed doubts that the victim, who had been sexually assaulted for a considerable period, had shown no resistance.

He further said that it appeared that the relationship, if so, must be by consent.

The court also raised questions as to why the victim had accepted financial assistance from one of the defendants when she could raise Rs 30,000 by pawning her gold jewelry.

The prosecution’s version, rather the allegations, are nothing more than a fabricated or imagined story by the victim, the judge said, adding that there was no material in the file to support the charges against the defendant.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)