Shriram Mills scion let off in rape case

The judge,without elaborating the reasons for the acquittal,only called Kasliwal ahead and said: “You are acquitted.” Dressed in black trousers and a white shirt,Kasliwal sat in the court silently and left the premises as soon as a copy of the operative order was handed to his lawyer. The elaborate order will be released in a week. The trial was conducted in-camera.

The rape case had seen dramatic turns after the victim mysteriously went missing in October 2006,seven months after the alleged incident on the intervening night of March 11 and 12,2006.

The police filed a chargesheet in June 2006 in which it cited statements of witnesses who saw Kasliwal entering the mill compound with the victim on the night of the incident. The chargesheet also contained forensic reports and results of the narco-analysis conducted on the accused.

While the Bombay High Court had pulled up the police for not being able to provide security to the victim,the prosecutor had then stepped down from the case,claiming she would not be able to carry out the trial without the victim. However,in June 2009,the victim surrendered before the Worli police station.

In all,48 witnesses were examined,including the victim. “She changed her statement every minute. The court did not find her statement reliable and that helped our case,” said defence lawyer Shrikant Shivde.