'How could he rape 1-handed?": Haryana court acquits suspect

Victim’s FIR Delay Comes Under Scanner

- Kumar Mukesh

Fatehabad: A court in Haryana’s Fatehabad has acquitted a rape accused charged with assaulting a 36-year-old married woman, giving him the benefit of doubt and observing that there was a delay of about two-and-a-half months in lodging the FIR.

“It is not possible that the culprit gagged the mouth of the victim by one hand and did other things forcibly by a single hand against an able-bodied woman,” fast-track special court judge Balwant Singh said while clearing Balwinder.

The FIR was filed against Balwinder on June 26 last year following the woman’s complaint. In her complaint, the victim claimed Balwinder raped her on April 5 and , 2021, when her husband had gone out of the village and her children were sleeping. She claimed Balwinder caught hold of her and dragged her into a room before raping her. She also alleged that he threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.