Prosecution fails to examine survivor, man let off for rape

Panaji: A fast track court acquitted a man of rape after the prosecution did not examine the survivor. The woman complained in 2021 that she was raped by him at a bar and restaurant where he and her husband worked.The court held that the only witness examined was the son of the owner of the bar and restaurant where the incident took place. He did not say anything about the incident, but mentioned that the accused was given the establishment to run and a room to stay in for three months only. He stated that he got to know of the incident five days later. The remaining witnesses were investigation officers.“The evidence brought on record creates doubt on the story of the prosecution as to whether the accused was really involved in the crime,” stated presiding officer of the fast track special court (Pocso) Panaji, Durga Madkaikar.The accused, represented by advocate Sahil Sardessai, told the court that the complaint was filed after the complainant’s husband had stolen a staff’s mobile phone, prompting the accused to threaten that he would file a complaint against her husband.The owner of the bar and restaurant was called to the police station, and he stated that since the accused sought to run the bar for just three months, he hadn’t entered into a leave and licence agreement with him and did not file any verification details. The survivor admitted there was a delay in lodging the complaint and said she was not aware if any action was taken regarding the theft of the mobile.