Etawah: In a significant development, a special court in Etawah has acquitted six individuals accused of molestation, abuse, and using caste-based words against members of a village in the district. The case, dating back to 2015, had been under trial for nearly nine years.
The incident occurred in Betiya Pura village under the Bharthana police station area. Genda Lal, a resident of the village, had lodged a complaint against Shivanand Saxena, Brihmanand Saxena, Inder Babu Batham, Dhirendra Batham, Arun Batham, and Sushil Tiwari, alleging that they had subjected women from his community to harassment, abuse, and caste-based discrimination.
Following the complaint, the police had arrested all six accused and sent them to jail. However, due to financial constraints, the accused were unable to afford legal representation. To address this, they approached the district court, requesting the appointment of a government lawyer.
The District Legal Services Authority intervened, assigning the case to a defense council team led by Chandresh Yadav, Rajni Shukla, and Harsh Patel. The council members worked diligently to present evidence in favor of the accused, arguing that the allegations lacked credibility.
After a thorough examination of the evidence, the court found that the prosecution had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, Shivanand, Brihmanand, Dhirendra, Arun Kumar, and Sushil Tiwari were acquitted. Inder Babu, another accused, had passed away during the course of the proceedings.
Mahi Saha
Mahi Saha, from Ranchi, reports for Neo Politico.
