Citing lapses in probe, Raigad court acquits 6 accused of gangrape, murder of 14-yr-old girl

Initial probe revealed that the victim had also been sexually assaulted before being killed. The police suspected a group of men, who were earlier in the day seen at the same spot as the victim and her friends, swimming at a lake.

The special court, in its order on May 8, said that the integrity of the evidence was not retained and the chain of custody of crucial evidence like the samples collected for DNA analysis was not properly brought before the court.

“The evidence which has come on record shows that the prosecution has proved that the victim was a minor. It is also proved by the prosecution that the victim had died a homicidal death. The prosecution is also able to prove that the accused were present at the place, where the victim was swimming. But the prosecution has failed to prove the other incriminating circumstances against the accused.

The evidence further shows that integrity of the evidence has not been retained and available material shows that the possibility of tampering has not been ruled out as a result of lengthy retention of the muddemal (materials) with the Investigating Officer,” special judge H K Bhalerao said.

The prosecution had claimed that the DNA of the three accused was found on the victim’s clothes.

However, while the blood samples and DNA samples of the accused were drawn on August 1, 2020, it was submitted to the forensic department only after four to five days.

The court said that this delay was not explained, and hence the results of the DNA tests cannot be relied on, as they could have been tampered with.

Similarly, the fingerprints of the accused, said to have been found from the victim’s scooter, too, were not submitted for analysis properly.

Other circumstantial evidence the prosecution submitted included an “extra-judicial” confession made by one of the accused to an acquaintance.

The acquaintance had told the court that a few days after the incident, he had met the accused on the street, and when they got talking, the accused “confessed” about his involvement in the crime.

The court said that the witness was not a relative or a friend of the accused and it was unlikely that he would have confessed to someone like that.

During the trial, the lawyers for the men, also sought that the court take judicial note of the fact that the crime took place at a time when there was a national lockdown in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic and there were heavy rains in the district.

Hence, the lawyers submitted, witnesses who claimed to have seen the accused on the street have to be considered in that light.

Five of the accused were in custody since 2020, while one was out on bail. The court directed them to be released. Police officials said that they will be deciding on filing an appeal against the acquittals.