A woman, accused of wrongfully confining a girl who was allegedly raped by her brother 25 years ago, has been acquitted by a Delhi court.
Additional Sessions Judge Sarita Birbal freed Delhi resident Satnam Kaur, who was declared a proclaimed offender in 1998 and arrested in 2015, saying the complainant's deposition against the accused was not believable.
The court also noted that the complainant and one of the three accused have already died. While Satnam's mother had died during the trial, her brother who was accused of raping the complainant was acquitted in the case in 1998.
"Satnam was 18-19 years old at the time of the incident.... I am of the opinion that deposition of the victim against this accused (Satnam) is not believable. The main accused has already acquitted on the basis of same evidence.
"The name of this accused seems to have been dragged only to take vengeance against the whole family of accused Avtar Singh (Satnam's brother)," the judge said.
Satnam, now a mother of three daughters, said in the court that she was not aware that the case was still going on.
According to the prosecution, a complaint was lodged at Bhajanpura Police Station in April 1991 by a girl, who was 22 years old at the time of incident, that she was kidnapped by three persons, including Avtar Singh, in a car when she was going to her friend's house in December 1990.
She had said they had gagged her and took her to a house in Model Town in North Delhi. They then took her to Mumbai. They brought her back to Delhi on April 1991 and after a few days, she managed to escape and informed her parents and police about the incident.
The girl had alleged that she was beaten by Avtar, his sister Satnam and mother Swaran Kaur and they had confined her in a house. She had also alleged that Avtar had raped her.
After lodging of the case, the medical report of the girl showed that she was pregnant.
Avtar was acquitted in August 1998 by the court which had said that the complainant was living with him of her own will and had got married to him in a temple. The court had given him benefit of doubt.
