Team Herald

PANJIM: A father and a son have been acquitted from charges of sexual harassment filed by a Russian lady in 2013 at Quepem Police Station. 

Sunil Kumar and his son Ankit Kumar were acquitted by the Judicial Magistrate First Class at Quepem last month from charges of outraging the modesty and threatening to kill the Russian tourist in a Quepem village. 

The court observed that there are not enough grounds in support of the charges framed against the duo by the Police. 

Quepem Police had booked the Kumars under Sections 504, 506, 509 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the complaint, prior to March 2013 the duo had abused the lady using filthy language, threatened to kill her, insulted her modesty by gestures and used criminal force to outrage her modesty.

The court examined five witnesses in the case, including another Russian lady, the medical officer and investigation officer of Quepem Police Station. A witness during the cross examination maintained that he was only asked to sign on a paper and this evidence didn’t help in the case. 

During cross-examination the complainant asked that the deposition of another witness in support of the case be dropped. The medical officer also maintained that no external injuries were found on the complainant’s body. 

“However, the evidence of the complainant is not corroborated by any other witness and since the complainant is not corroborated by any other witness and since relations between the accused and the complainant are strained, no much reliance can be placed on the un corroborated testimony of PW1 (Panch witness). Hence these points are concluded as disproved. To sum up, the prosecution has failed to prove its case and therefore, the accused are entitled for an acquittal,” the court order states.

The complainant was also booked by Quepem Police for over staying in India without a valid visa.