A court in Delhi acquitted a man accused of strangling a seven-year-old girl in 2008, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. In an order dated October 31, the court determined that the material produced by the prosecution to establish the guilt of the accused was insufficient.
"It would definitely fall short of the requisite quality of beyond a reasonable doubt," the court said. Additional Sessions Judge Babru Bhan pronounced the acquittal while hearing the case against Anil Kumar, who was accused of killing the girl in Delhi's Prem Vihar area on March 22, 2008.
The judge also noted that Kumar came out clean in the lie-detector test conducted at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) on Lodhi Road. "The report mentions that the accused was subjected to eight questions by the expert. None of the responses of the accused were found to be deceptive, and the expert opined that the accused was truthful in his version that he never called, assaulted or harmed the deceased," the judge said.
The court emphasised that the present case was based solely on circumstantial evidence and that motive was of paramount importance in such cases, as the complete chain of events could not be established without motive.
None of the witnesses said that Kumar had any enmity with the girl's family, and medical reports also did not mention any sexual assault. "In the absence of any motive, this court is not inclined to believe the involvement of accused Anil in the offence in question," the court said.
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It rejected the prosecution's argument that the minor's body was recovered at the accused's instance.
"Merely being present upon the stairs outside somebody's shop cannot even be considered as (last) seen in his company," the court said.
According to the prosecution, Kumar was a resident of the same locality where the girl's family had a house. The prosecution alleged that the girl was sitting on the stairs of Kumar's shop before she went missing. Her body was found in an under-construction building.
The post-mortem found the cause of death to be asphyxia due to manual strangulation. An FIR in the matter was lodged at the Karawal Nagar Police Station in 2008.
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