Life imprisonment of man convicted of raping 5-year-old set

The Calcutta High Court has set aside the life imprisonment of a man convicted of raping a five-year old girl in East Midnapore district in 2012.

A division bench, comprising justices Sahidullah Munshi and Md Nizamuddin, ordered the release of Gurupada Das who was convicted on May 19, 2014 by the additional district and sessions judge, East Midnapore.

Passing the order on Friday, the division bench held that there was a possibility of the accused not having committed sexual assault upon the victim as it was stated before the doctor that the girl suffered the injury due to fall from a running bicycle.

The doctor in the note sheet also noted that a prime witness stated that the injury was caused to her due to a fall from the bicycle despite asking whether was there any sexual assault or not, according to the division bench.

The incident was alleged to have taken place on May 26, 2012 and a complaint with the police was filed on May 31. The accused was arrested a week after the complaint was lodged.

This gives rise to a suspicion in the evidence adduced by the prosecution and it does not show that prosecution has been able to prove the case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt, the bench held, setting aside Das' conviction and sentence.

Das had appealed against the judgment and order of conviction by the additional district and sessions judge, East Midnapore.

It was alleged in the complaint by the relatives of the girl that while playing outside her house after coming back from school, Das called her and took her on his bicycle to a nearby bush near his house and then allured her in the name of buying biscuit and new garment.

Thereafter, the appellant made a bed with short cloth, according to the prosecution.

It was alleged that the accused tried to make the victim fall sleep and committed the offence upon her, the division bench noted.

The evidence provided by the prosecution, however, could not prove the charge, Das' lawyer Kallol Mondal told the division bench.

He submitted that the prosecution proceeded on a wrong footing and the framing of charge in the case was defective.

Prosecution lawyer A Maiti submitted that the appellant was rightly convicted by the trial court.

He submitted that the argument advanced by the appellant that there are contradictions apparent on the face of the evidence adduced by the prosecution does not hold and that the judgement and conviction by the trial court does not call for any interference.

After hearing both the parties, the division bench set aside the trial court order and ordered Das' release from correctional home.