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Delhi's Saket District Court recently acquitted a man accused of stabbing a woman to death 26 years back in 1998. The accused had absconded and was declared a proclaimed offender by the Court.
He was arrested in the year 2022 from his native village in Dausa Rajasthan after 24 years of the incident. An FIR was registered in the police station Okhla Industrial Area in March 1998. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Rajneesh Kumar Gupta acquitted Niranjan of the offence of murder of Maya. The court said that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC. "Accordingly, the accused Niranjan is acquitted for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and under Section 174-A IPC. The bail bond was cancelled. Surety discharged," the court ordered on November 22, 2024. The husband of the deceased was the complainant and the material witness of the case as he is the only eye-witness of the incident. "Perusal of his testimony shows that he has not supported the case of the prosecution. He has been declared hostile by the prosecution. He has been cross-examined on behalf of the state but no such material has been come on record which would support the case of the prosecution against the accused," the court observed. The court said that he has specifically denied the suggestion of the state that the accused attacked his wife near her backbone with the knife and the accused was carrying a knife in his hand and thereafter accused fled away. Advocate Harsh Sharma appeared for accused Niranjan. This case was registered on the complaint of one Kallu Ram under Section 302 IPC. After the investigation, a charge sheet was filed against the accused as Proclaimed Offender in Patiala House Court. By way of an order dated March 5, .2005 of the Metropolitan Magistrate (MM), the file was consigned to the record room. This case was restarted after the arrest of the accused Niranjan. He was arrested on May 30, 2022. As per the prosecution, on May 17, 1998, from a Jhuggi in Rajeev Camp Okhla, the police had found the dead body of Maya, the wife of the complainant having injury with stitches on her back. At the spot, the complainant produced one saree having cut marks of knife and blood stains, blood stained petticoat, blouse of the deceased to the police. The police recorded the statement of her husband Kallu Ram. He alleged that on May 17, 1998, at around 11:00 am in Okhla Phase II, the accused Niranjan attacked Maya near her backbone with the knife and ran away from the spot with the knife. On the way to the hospital, Maya died. During the investigation of the case, a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) was issued against the accused and the process under Section 82 and 83 Cr.P.C. had been issued against the accused as he was evading the arrest. On September 10, 2001, the accused was declared a proclaimed offender by the court and the chargesheet was filed against the accused as a proclaimed offender. On May 30, 2022, the accused was arrested in the present FIR with the permission of the court. Thereafter, the supplementary chargesheet was filed against the accused under Section 302/174-A IPC. Charges under Section 302 IPC and under Section 174-A IPC were framed against the accused to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. (ANI)
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