New Delhi: The Dwarka Session Court has acquitted all four accused in the alleged murder of a man named Rahul in July 2016, citing a lack of evidence. The court freed Sapna, the prime accused and wife of the deceased Rahul, and three other co-accused in the case. The prosecution claimed before the court that Rahul was burnt alive by his wife and her boyfriend, Vikas, using petrol.
The court acquitted all the accused, saying the prosecution failed to prove the charges against the accused. Police had booked Sapna and three other accused under Section 302 (murder), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Prosecution claimed conspiracy to murder Rahul
The prosecution claimed Sapna, allegedly driven by motive, conspired with Vikas, Rohtash, and Amit to orchestrate Rahul’s murder. The prosecution claimed Sapna lured Rahul and took him to a construction site under the pretext of getting him a job, where the accused allegedly set him on fire using petrol.
“The prosecution failed on several counts to prove the murder theory before the court that acquitted Sapna of the alleged murder of her husband, Rahul. First, the prosecution could not establish the audio recording of Sapna with the other co-accused after the murder. Secondly, the temple priest turned hostile while recording the witness. A purported statement from Rahul from a hospital bed, based on which the FIR was filed by the deceased’s brother, could not be established by the prosecution as the doctor during the time of treatment termed Rahul “not fit for statement,” said defence lawyer Prekshit Chauhan.
The prosecution presented a collection of circumstantial evidence to support its case. This evidence included a crucial audio recording of phone conversations between Sapna and Vikas, mobile call records, and the testimonies of the complainant and family members.
In total, the court examined 29 prosecution witnesses. Key evidence presented by the prosecution included the recorded phone conversation allegedly implicating Sapna. During the course of the investigation, police seized several mobile phones and a motorcycle alleged to have been used in the crime.
Defence mounts vigorous arguments
However, the defence mounted vigorous arguments and proved that the prosecution’s case was built on a foundation of weak circumstantial evidence, lacking any direct eyewitness accounts. The defence questioned the admissibility and reliability of the audio recording and highlighted that the deceased, Rahul, never identified any of the accused before his death.
Furthermore, the defence contended that the prosecution failed to establish a clear motive or proven relationship between Sapna and the other accused, weakening the prosecution’s narrative.
Ultimately, the court concluded that the prosecution had not presented sufficient proof to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The court specifically noted that several key witnesses, including the temple priest, had turned hostile, failing to provide corroborating evidence. The court ruled that the chain of circumstances presented was incomplete and that the prosecution had not sufficiently linked the evidence to the crime itself.
As a result of the insufficient evidence and the prosecution’s failure to conclusively prove its case, all the accused – Sapna, Rohtash, Vikas, and Amit – were acquitted of all charges.