Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The North Goa Special Fast-Track Court has acquitted a 19-year-old man who was facing charges of rape and criminal intimidation in connection with a 2020 case, after the complainant did not support the prosecution’s version of events during the trial.
The case was registered at Ponda Police Station in July 2020. The prosecution had alleged that the accused took the complainant to a hotel room in Ponda and other secluded locations on multiple occasions between October 31, 2019, and March 16, 2020, and sexually assaulted her against her will.
It was also alleged that the accused had taken nude photographs of the complainant and subsequently used them to pressure her into meeting him. The prosecution further alleged that he had threatened to kill her father.
The accused was arrested on July 19, 2020, and later granted bail in September that year. The court framed charges against him in March 2021.
During the proceedings, the prosecution examined seven witnesses, including medical professionals, panch witnesses and the investigating officer.
The case took a significant turn when the complainant entered the witness box. She told the court that she did not want to give evidence against the accused and said she had herself moved an application seeking to compound the matter.
She further stated that her decision was made voluntarily and was not the result of pressure, coercion, force or any financial settlement.
Since the complainant did not corroborate the allegations made in the original case, her previous statements were brought on record as contradictions.
After examining the evidence, the court concluded that the prosecution had not established the charges against the accused to the required standard of proof and acquitted him.
The court noted that the complainant’s evidence was central to establishing the alleged non-consensual acts. In this case, however, she had chosen not to support the prosecution’s allegations during the trial.
