Case: Four witnesses including the plaintiff died, father-son accused of Dalit harassment acquitted after 26 years

 
The case is from Soraon police station area of ??Allahabad (now Prayagraj) district. On 16 October 1998, Raghuveer Prasad of Mahangupur had lodged an FIR against Shiv Sagar Dwivedi and his son Shyam Sundar Dwivedi of the village.
The district court declared the father-son accused of Dalit harassment innocent after 26 years. This decision was given by the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Ratnesh Kumar Srivastava. During this time, four witnesses including the plaintiff who lodged the FIR died, while the police could not produce the remaining witnesses.
The case is from Soraon police station area of ??Allahabad (now Prayagraj) district. On 16 October 1998, Raghuveer Prasad of Mahangupur had lodged an FIR against Shiv Sagar Dwivedi and his son Shyam Sundar Dwivedi of the village. It was alleged that the accused father-son forcibly took out the seal of the village headman from the pocket of the plaintiff’s brother Raghunath Prasad who had gone to the tehsil and pasted it on a blank paper. Then they forcibly got him to sign it by pointing a gun at him. After this, the accused reached the plaintiff’s shop and started abusing him on caste-related matters. They also threatened to kill him. They said that they will chase and shoot your brother.

After investigating the case, the police filed a chargesheet against the father-son. During the 26-year-long trial, the plaintiff Raghuveer Prasad and four prosecution witnesses Raghunath Prasad, Harilal and Anil Kumar died. Whereas, despite the court summoning the rest of the witnesses including the investigating officer several times, the police could not produce them. Nor could they provide any evidence on the basis of which the charges could be proved beyond doubt. Therefore, after 26 years, the court acquitted the accused father-son of all charges, declaring them innocent.

Courtesy: Amar Ujala
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