Union Minister Khadse's daughter, friends harassed in Jalgaon; seven named in FIR, one held
Jalgaon, Mar 2 (PTI): Union Minister Raksha Khadse on Sunday lodged a police complaint regarding the harassment of her daughter and some of her friends by a group of men at an event in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, following which one person was arrested.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Khadse at Muktainagar police station in connection with an incident that occurred at Sant Muktai Yatra in Kothali village on Friday night.
Seven persons have been named in the FIR, of which one, identified as Soham Mali, has been arrested, a Muktainagar police station official said in the evening. He added that teams have been formed the nab the other accused.
The seven have been charged with stalking and other offences under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while Information Technology Act provisions have been invoked since they tried to take pictures and videos of the girls without permission, the official informed.
The bodyguards accompanying the girls named the seven persons, the police official added.
Talking to reporters earlier in the day, the Union minister and BJP leader said, "I was in Gujarat, so my daughter called me to ask for permission to go. I asked her to take a guard and two to three staff members along. My daughter and her friends were followed and pushed, and their photos and videos were taken. When my staff objected, the boys resorted to unruly behaviour, and a mob of 30 to 40 people gathered."
Khadse said when she returned home this morning, her daughter told her that the same group had misbehaved with her on February 24 at a public event.
"It is unfortunate. If such things happen to an MP or Union minister's daughter, imagine what common people have to go through," she said.
Khadse said some locals in Muktainagar told her that this group harassed girls on their way to school.
"I have spoken to the chief minister and the deputy superintendent of police," she said, demanding that the culprits be arrested.
Speaking to reporters in Raigad, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "Those who harassed Khadse's daughter are from a political party. The local police have arrested some of them and registered a case. There will be strict action taken against them."
He added that whichever party the accused may belong, "no leader has said not to take action against them".
When asked about his remarks that the accused belonged to a particular political party, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said ," which ever party they may belong, no leader had said not to take action against them."
Raksha Khadse's father-in-law, former minister and NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse said, "The police have already received several complaints against these youths in the past, but no effective steps were taken. These boys are hardened criminals."
He claimed that crimes against women have increased in Maharashtra, and criminals are not afraid of the police.
"Girls do not come forward to lodge complaints. Parents believe that the names of their daughters should not be disclosed. We complained as we had no option left," he said.
"I have spoken to the DSP and IG. When we went to the police station first, we were made to sit for two hours. The police told us to rethink the issue as it relates to girls. The youths have beaten up the police also. These people have political protection," the NCP (SP) leader said.
Reacting to the development, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal claimed the law and order situation in the state has collapsed under the Mahayuti government.
"The incident of Union Minister Khadse's daughter being molested by thugs and security guards being pushed is extremely worrying and shows that women and girls are not safe in the state," he said.
He claimed that Khadse was sitting in the police station because persons who molested her daughter and other girls were not being arrested.
Sapkal said, "There has been an increase in atrocities against women and girls in the state. If the daughter of a Union minister is unsafe, it is better not to think about girls of common citizens," he said.
He said CM Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, has lost focus.
"The fact that a minister's daughter was molested even in the presence of security guards is a sign that the law and order has gone haywire. Fadnavis should resign from the post of home minister and give the state a full-time competent home minister for the safety of mothers and sisters in the state," the Congress leader said.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the news of Khadse's daughter being molested while under police protection reflects the reality prevalent in Maharashtra.
"The minister had to go directly to the police station to demand that the accused be arrested. We have been saying for a long time that the police are no longer feared in the state because gangsters get protection from the ruling Mahayuti," he claimed.
The Mahayuti government has been shown a mirror by its Central minister, Wadettiwar said, questioning if the incident will awaken the chief minister and the two deputy chief ministers.
Maharashtra Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar said the panel will follow up on the case and ensure the culprits are punished.
Chakankar told reporters she had discussed the case with police officials.
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) women's wing president Rohini Khadse, who is the sister in law of Raksha Khadse, claimed the accused belonged to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling alliance.
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Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
