Youth acquitted of charge of sodomising minor

A youth has been acquitted by a Delhi court of the charge of sodomising a nine-year-old boy after threatening him on the ground that the victim failed to identify the accused.
Metropolitan Magistrate Jyoti Kler allowed Mohammed Iqbal to walk free, saying the circumstances raised doubt on the prosecution story.
"The entire case of the prosecution depended upon the testimonies of complainant (victim's father) and the victim.
"However, both these witnesses did not identify the accused and further failed to reveal the particulars of those involved in the alleged incident. Their cross examination by the prosecution was of no help," the court said and gave benefit of doubt to Iqbal.

Iqbal was acquitted of the charges of unnatural offence and threat to cause death or grievous injury.
According to the prosecution, the complainant, an auto driver, was informed by his minor son on the evening of July 9, 2009 that he was sodomised by three youths when he had gone to play at a nearby MCD school in Malviya Nagar area.

The child told his father that Iqbal had taken him to the roof of the school where he and others were consuming alcohol, it said.
The accused then sodomised the minor and also threatened to throw him in a water tank if he raised an alarm, it said, adding that in the meantime, someone called out for the accused and sensing the opportunity, the child got himself released and escaped.

Of the three accused, only Iqbal was apprehended by the police.
In his deposition in the court, the boy had narrated the whole incident but failed to identify the accused, saying he could not see them properly as it was dark when the incident had taken place.
While acquitting the accused, the court also said that the prosecution has failed to explain the delay in lodging the complaint and why a police control room (PCR) call was made by the victim's father at odd hours--midnight even when the incident had occurred more than 24 hours ago.