New Delhi: A 24-year-old rape case that was begging for justice due to non-appearance of the accused has been reopened in a fast-track court here dealing with sexual offences against women after the arrest of the absconding offender.
Additional Sessions Judge Sarita Birbal reopened the trial after the accused, Lakhpat, who was evading arrest, was produced before the court by the police. The court has now posted the matter for January 6, 2015 for recording the statements of the remaining prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution has alleged that Lakhpat kidnapped a 12-year-old girl from east Delhi on July 6, 1990 and took her to his village in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and raped her.
It added that Lakhpat, who was around 24-years-old at the time of incident, was a tenant in the victim’s house.
The girl was later rescued and the police arrested Lakhpat and lodged a first information report against him in east Delhi’s Bhajanpura. He was granted bail on December 21, 1994.
The trial began January 5, 1995 after a sessions court here framed various charges dealing with rape and kidnapping against Lakhpat. He had appeared in the court for the next few hearings but then absconded. Thereafter, the sessions court hearing the case issued a non-bailable warrant against him but he was untraceable.
The court declared him a proclaimed offender on February 2, 1998 and stayed the trial, saying it could not be conducted without Lakhpat’s presence. Till then, four of the 11 prosecution witnesses, including the victim, who is now 36, were examined.
On October 28, acting on a tip-off, police arrested Lakhpat from RK Puram in south Delhi and produced before a magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody. IANS
