RAJKOT: A court in Dhoraji town, in Gujarat’s Rajkot district, found a 22-year-old man guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl despite his DNA not matching her fetus; the conviction was based on other evidence and the survivor’s statement.
At the same time, the court, in its recent order, also ordered the Rajkot SP to conduct a departmental inquiry against the investigating officer (IO) for failure to probe two other suspected perpetrators named as her friends in the complaint lodged by the girl’s aunt. Himkar Singh, SP, Rajkot, told TOI, “According to the court’s order, I have entrusted ASP Simran Bharadwaj with the departmental inquiry against the IO of the case.” The convict was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
In July 2024, the survivor’s aunt filed a complaint at Bhayavadar police station alleging that the accused raped the girl over two years “under the pretence of romance”, resulting in her pregnancy.
The girl testified to multiple instances of rape over two years. She delivered a child at a Junagadh govt hospital.
Additional public prosecutor Kartikey Parekh argued, “…Even after receiving the DNA report, the IO did not record the statements of the girl or her relatives regarding the involvement of other suspects, and the testimony of the survivor can’t be rejected only because the DNA report doesn’t match.”
After hearing both sides, the court stated: “The prosecution succeeded in proving that the accused committed the crime under BNS Sections 376 (3), 376 (2) (n) and under Pocso.”