Court acquits 6 accused in Muzaffarnagar gangrape case

Muzaffarnagar: Citing lack of evidence, a fast track court has acquitted six persons accused of allegedly raping a 32-year-old married woman, filming the incident and circulating the clip on the social media. Justice Balraj Singh pronounced the order Monday letting off Irshad, Nazer, Sajid, Salauddin, Naushad and Sattar saying the prosecution had failed to substantiate its story in the case.

According to the complaint filed by the victim, she was abducted and gang-raped by the six accused in 2013 at Kailawda village under Khatoli Police Station in the district. The accused shot a video of the incident and circulated the clip on social media. The victim was blackmailed into submission for three years after the incident and threatened of dire consequences if she approached the police, the complaint had said.

In January, 2016, police had arrested Irshad and Nazer and booked three shopkeepers in the village for allegedly leaking the video on social media. The incident had caused tensions between two communities in the village prompting the state government to deploy extra police force in the area.