The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered a fresh investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl at Bageshwar Dham in Chhatarpur after a forensic report found that the accused was not the biological father of her foetus and the minor did not support the rape allegation against him while deposing before the trial court.
According to the prosecution case recorded in the High Court order, the minor had alleged that the accused, Raju Jatav, had forcibly raped her at Bageshwar Dham.
Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari, while rejecting the accused’s second bail application, directed the Superintendent of Police, Chhatarpur, to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assault and identify the biological father of the foetus. The investigation has been ordered to be completed within two months, followed by appropriate action. She was medically examined during the investigation and was found to be two months pregnant. During the trial, however, she did not support the allegation. The court noted that while the forensic report excluded Jatav as the biological father of the foetus, the minor had conceived following physical relations with a man. It directed the police to investigate the circumstances of the alleged sexual assault and determine the identity of the biological father.
In statements recorded under Sections 180 and 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the minor had alleged that Jatav had forcibly raped her at Bageshwar Dham.
The minor had alleged that the accused, Raju Jatav, had forcibly raped her at Bageshwar Dham, according to the prosecution case recorded in the High Court order. She did not support the prosecution’s version during her testimony and denied that Jatav had raped her, according to the High Court order.
The case took another turn when the minor appeared before the trial court as a prosecution witness. The High Court noted a contradiction between her earlier statements and her subsequent testimony.
