look news india
Mumbai: The Dindoshi Sessions Court has acquitted Rehan Qureshi, accused of raping more than 20 minors, of the sexual assault case against him.
In the order, a special court judge under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act said that the government could not prove the case against Qureshi. “Therefore, the accused is given the benefit of doubt and is acquitted,” said special judge S. Taklikar in the May 13 order.
Qureshi was released on May 13, the case was of 2015. According to the information of the case, the 10-year-old girl was missing for some time. It was said that a boy had held her. Many times when the boy went out, she would run away and come home. The mother lodged a complaint with the police. In the investigation, a case was registered against Qureshi and he was arrested in 2019.
Seven witnesses were relied upon by the prosecution. They claimed that the victim identified the accused in the identification parade. Qureshi denied all the allegations. The girl was not molested nor was her body touched. The defence argued that the victim could not properly identify the accused as the crime took place in the dark. Noting that the victim had identified the accused after four years, the court found truth in the defence's argument.
The accused tied the girl for five to eight minutes and people were also present nearby. The victim could have screamed or fallen in the crowd. Therefore, the incident is suspicious, the court said. The accused will remain in jail in connection with another case.
Qureshi was arrested in October 2018 by the Navi Mumbai police based on CCTV footage. The DNA profile was used to implicate him in an eight-year-old case of rape and murder of two minors. After his arrest, he confessed to raping and molesting several minor girls in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.