Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 21: Principal Sessions Judge Poonch, Jaffer Hussain Beigh today acquitted Zahoor Ahmed, son of Mohd Sharief of Mendhar, who was allegedly facing trial in rape case and passed strictures against IO. The court also ordered reinvestigation as Police presented challan against wrong person in the case.
“The Public Prosecutor made scathing criticism of the conduct of Sub Inspector Nazir Ahmed, Investigating Officer of this case. At the same time, the prosecutrix moved a protest application that the FIR No.131/2011 of Police Station Mendhar has not been investigated properly and her statement got recorded under Section 164-A CrPC was only under threat to her life and under the compulsion of the concerned IO”, the court observed.
The PP submitted that when the application of the prosecutrix was against Imran, son of Mohd Yaseen of Mendhar and FIR was registered on this application, it was to be investigated whether the report lodged by the prosecutrix was correct or not but the Investigating Officer himself has given his own twist to the investigation and has left the actual culprit but has connected the present accused without any complaint of any person and not of even the prosecutrix against him, the court further observed.
“In view of these submissions by the PP and also by the counsel for the accused, it can be said that no investigation has been conducted on the application of the prosecutrix but the investigation conducted by the Investigating Officer is far away from the contents of the application lodged by the prosecutrix”, the court said.
“The prosecutrix forms the key ingredient in a criminal trial and it is the testimony of this witness which establishes the guilt of the accused. It is, therefore, imperative that for justice to be done, as it is the reliance on her testimony and complaint she made that the actual culprit of heinous crime against her can be brought to book”, the court said, adding “the victims of crime are persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering is the abuse of power of the investigation when the investigating agency without investigating the FIR has not fairly conducted the investigation”.
Accordingly, the court directed SSP Poonch to get the re-investigation conducted in the light of the report lodged by the prosecutrix by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and disciplinary action against the Investigating Officer namely Nazir Ahmed be also initiated under rule and the outcome of the investigation as well as the enquiry against the Investigating Officer and action taken in the matter be submitted to this court.
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