Thane: Man Accused Of Raping, Killing Daughter Acquitted

A man accused of raping and killing his daughter after she eloped with her boyfriend in 2013 was on Friday acquitted by a court in Thane in Maharashtra. As per the prosecution, the man and his friend nabbed the girl and her boyfriend from Kashimira area in Thane after they had eloped in October, 2013 and then took them to Sanjay Gandhi National Park where the two gangraped the girl and then strangled her. The two accused then hid the body in the bushes, the prosecution said.

Judge PP Jadhav, in his order on Friday, acquitted them under sections of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act stating that the prosecution had failed to prove the case.

Defence lawyer Ramrao Jagtap said the two were given benefit of the doubt by court as the prosecution failed to prove points like where they were last seen, plus lack of eye-witnesses in the national park where the girl was said to have been killed.