A city court has freed nine persons charged with human trafficking and buying someone for slavery, saying the police had failed to prove that a woman was bought for prostitution and asking the Police Commissioner to initiate action against the officers responsible.
The court said the SHO of Desh Bandhu Gupta Road Police Station and the investigating officer did not scrutinise the charge sheet properly which caused damage to the prosecution case.
"On perusal of record, it is revealed that disclosure of accused Rajesh reflects amount of only Rs 50, whereas the charge sheet reflects Rs 50,000 for selling of the victim, but no explanation has been furnished before filing the charge sheet in the court.... Necessary action be taken against IO and SHO.
"Copy of this order be sent to the Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, for necessary action and compliance," Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumar II said.
The court said there was contradiction on the point of selling of the woman which also cast doubt on the prosecution's case and added that no corroborative evidence could be placed on record to prove that the accused raped her.
The court acquitted Archana, Naresh, Rajesh Kumar, Meena, Mazid, Asgar Ali, Awnish Sharma, Mohd Naseem and Deepak of various charges including 370 (buying or disposing of any person as a slave), 370A(2) (exploitation of trafficked person), 343 (wrongful confinement), 109 (punishment of abetment of an offence), 376 (rape) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and sections of Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
The FIR was lodged in February 2014 on the allegation that a woman had come to Delhi from Assam with a person known to her family in search of a job. The man had then forced her into prostitution.
The woman alleged that she was sold for Rs 50,000 and forced into prostitution.
One night, the woman managed to flee from the house where she was confined and informed the police about her condition, it said.
During the trial, the accused claimed they were falsely implicated in the case and said they had no connection with the woman.
