"Exaggerated claims": Maharashtra court acquits man accused of raping teenage drug addict

Mumbai: A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court has acquitted a 31-year-old man accused of raping a teenage drug addict on the pretext of marriage, while noting that the victim's version of the incidents was “exaggerated”, a lawyer said here on Saturday.

In her statement, she alleged that on May 4, 2020, he took the 17-year-old to a lodge where he committed sexual intercourse and repeated the act several times thereafter.

In September 2020, the teen's mother lodged a missing complaint after the girl went 'missing'. However, it was later found that she had gone to the house of her grandparents in Lucknow.

According to the prosecution's story, when the girl met her mother again, she was in an intoxicated condition. The teen finally narrated her ordeal and revealed how the accused had raped her several times when she was under the influence of narcotics, the prosecution added.

The mother then lodged a rape complaint with the Dongri police on October 2.

Defence lawyer Munira Palanpurwala contended that the woman (girl's mother) was into drug dealing and the girl had met the accused through her.

The teen was already addicted to narcotics and was also sent for rehabilitation, the lawyer claimed.

The special court also found the girl's testimony “exaggerated and unreliable”, as it was not consistent.