Indian-origin doctor in US found not guilty of performing lewd act in front of teen on aircraft
New York, Feb 1: A 33-year-old Indian-origin doctor in the US who was accused of allegedly exposing himself and performing a lewd act next to a teenage girl onboard a flight has been acquitted, according to a media report.
Dr Sudipta Mohanty was found not guilty on Wednesday after a three-day trial in the Boston federal court, The New York Post newspaper reported.
Mohanty, an internal medicine and primary care doctor, was arrested in August last year and charged by criminal complaint with one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US.
Indicted in September, Mohanty opted for a bench trial, meaning he handed his case down to a judge, not a jury, the report said.
In May 2022, Mohanty, travelling with a female companion on a flight en route from Honolulu to Boston, was seated next to a 14-year-old minor travelling with her grandparents. Accusing him of masturbating until ejaculation, the minor had said that she noticed the blanket he had up to his neck had fallen and his pants were unzipped.
The minor informed family members about the incident after arriving in Boston, and subsequently, law enforcement was notified.
In a written statement, Mohanty said, "My fiance was sitting next to me on that flight, and neither of us can understand why this happened to us."
"I have dedicated my life to caring for others as a physician, and it has been heartbreaking to step away while I dealt with these false accusations," the report cited the statement.
"Dr Mohanty is a talented and dedicated medical doctor. He has absolutely no history of wrongdoing whatsoever. On the contrary, he has devoted his life to helping those in need," a statement from his attorney said.
"The last six months have been a bizarre nightmare for him, and he is relieved this is finally over so that he can rebuild his life. He is profoundly thankful that the court heard his case so promptly and that it came to this just result," the statement said.
Prosecutors said they were disappointed with the case's outcome. "Our office has no reservations about having proceeded with this case," the report quoted them as saying.
Mohanty faced up to 90 days in prison, a fine of USD 5,000, and one year of supervised release if he had been convicted.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
