No journalist to be prosecuted in Murthal gang-rape case: Addl. Advocate General

Reacting to the charges put forward by amicus curiae Anupam Gupta before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday, Additional Advocate General Pawan Girdhar today said there is no direction to prosecute any journalist with regard to the Murthal gang-rape case.

Gupta appealed that the Delhi-based journalist, who filed a report on alleged cases of gang-rape in Murthal, Haryana, during the Jat agitation earlier this year should be prosecuted for producing false and fabricated evidence of the alleged victim.

"There is no direction to prosecute any journalist. There is no variation at all and we have submitted all the details before the court as and when required," he said.

"Definitely we are going to file a response to clear any kind of variation that which has been pointed out by learned amicus curiae before the honourable court. We will file a response to clarify the same," he added.

At least 30 people were killed and over 320 injured in the nine-day long Jat agitation for reservation in February this year. There were reports that women had been dragged out to the fields and raped during the violence that ensued.

The Haryana Government had initially denied the reports of rape, but admitted in April that there could be a possibility of the same.

The SIT report earlier said that no victim of the alleged mass gang-rape or molestation had come forward to lodge a complaint.

The High Court, taking suo motu notice of reports in the media about the gang-rapes, had asked the Haryana government and police to submit a status report and appointed lawyer Anupam Gupta as amicus curiae.