Youth convicted for molesting woman

A Delhi court has convicted a youth for molesting a woman while she was going to relieve herself in a field and revoked attempt to rape charges against him.
Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna held Ashu guilty of the offence, saying he cannot be convicted for rape of the woman as he failed to complete his act, after the victim fled from his clutches.
The court, however, has only convicted Ashu for the crime as three of his associates, who were also part of the offence, were not arrested during the investigation of the case and they remained untraceable throughout the trial.

"To my mind the facts suggest an indecent assault upon the woman and hence the case would be rather squarely covered under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt)/ 341 (wrongful restraint)/ 354 (assault or criminal force to the woman with intent to outrage her modesty)/ 34 (common intention) of the IPC...," the judge said.
The court further said, "It is clear from the deposition of prosecutrix (woman) that the accused (Ashu) along with his associates was trying to take her to a jungle but his act was not complete and that the woman flee from his clutches and ran towards her house shouting 'bachao bachao' (save me).

"Further on seeing an old man the accused along with his other associates did not follow her or make any further effort to take her to jungle area and rather they all ran away from the spot."
Ashu was arrested by the police on the complaint lodged by the victim's husband, who had alleged that in July 2011, while his wife went to an open area nearby his house in south Delhi for easing herself, four youths caught hold of her, beat her and also tried to sexually assault her.
However, Ashu pleaded innocence during the trial and had said that he be acquitted in the case, due to contradictions in the depositions of the woman and her husband.