Jahanvi Agarwal
In a recent verdict, a special CBI court in Lucknow has acquitted 14 individuals who were accused of sexually assaulting a 49-year-old woman and her 18-year-old daughter during the 2005 communal riots in Mau. All the accused had been granted bail prior to the trial.
The defence counsel for the accused, Akshay Pratap Singh, confirmed that the court’s decision to acquit all 14 defendants was rendered on Saturday. The court meticulously examined a total of 34 prosecution witnesses and 22 defense witnesses throughout the proceedings.
The case originated when the daughter filed a First Information Report (FIR) against 15 individuals, which included one minor, on November 23, 2005, at the local police station. According to the complainant, their assailants, who were neighbours and residents of nearby villages, attacked their house on October 15, 2005, amidst the riots that erupted in Mau. The complainant alleged that they were subjected to physical assault and sexual violence.
Initially, the Mau police conducted the initial investigation. Subsequently, the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which conducted a thorough forensic examination of the accused. Importantly, the court noted that both the woman and her daughter provided statements on two separate occasions before a magistrate.
Additionally, it was pointed out that eight of the individuals named in the FIR were actually victims of the riots and had already received compensation from the government for their losses.