Man acquitted of charges of sexually harassing, stalking minor

A man, accused of sexually harassing and stalking a 15-year-old girl, has been acquitted by a Delhi court which said the testimony of the victim was "not trustworthy and reliable".
Additional Sessions Judge Gulshan Kumar acquitted Dongar Singh, a resident of Sangam Vihar here, of the offences of sexual harassment under sections 11 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and stalking under section 354D of the IPC.
"The testimony of the girl is not trustworthy and reliable," the court said, while acquitting Singh.
"In view of testimonies of material witnesses, nothing has come on record that accused (Singh) has stalked the prosecutrix (girl) and sexually harassed her.

"Thus, I am of the considered view that prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt," the judge said.
According to the prosecution, the girl's father lodged a complaint alleging that on April 23, 2013, Singh tried to physically assault her when she was coming home from a temple with her sister.

It said that the girl and her sister told him not to block their way and ran away from there. They informed their father and an FIR was registered against Singh for stalking and sexually harassing the girl.
The victim and her sister had deposed on the same lines as their father in front of the police and said that Singh, who was a neighbour, had stalked the girl and tried to speak to her previously too.

The girl, her sister and father, however, changed their statements during their cross-examination in the court and denied that Singh sexually harassed her.
They said Singh was only making sure that the girl reached her home safely.
During the trial, Singh had denied the allegations against him and said he was falsely implicated in the case.