The Noida police have removed the name of former Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) president Satender Awana and his father from a dowry-related case, which was registered in March 2016.
The police said that there were no evidence of their involvement in the incident.
Noida’s Superintendent of Police Dinesh Yadav said that an FIR was lodged against Mr. Awana and his father Rishi Awana and seven others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
“Names of Mr. Awana and his father were removed as the police did not find strong evidence against them,” Mr. Yadav said.
The case was filed after one Aruna Bhati complained to the police that her in-laws had been pressurising her for dowry. Ms. Bhati had allegedly gotten married to one Mohit in May 2015.
Younger cousin
The complainant had claimed that her husband was the younger cousin of Mr. Awana.
Ms. Bhati had told the police that her in-laws had thrashed her when she refused to ask for more dowry from her parents.
She further alleged that her in-laws tried to smother her and also claimed to have been molested.
Ms. Bhati had claimed that Mr. Awana and his father were involved in the entire episode. Mr. Awana’s father is a Samajwadi Party leader.
“Acting on the complaint, we had lodged an FIR under Sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act,” Mr. Yadav said.
The in-laws of the complainant had also lodged an FIR against her family under Sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC.
Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Awana said that since the very beginning he had been calling the allegations against him and his father baseless.
“The complainant had said that I am elder cousin of Mohit. I am seven year younger than the complainant. At the time of the incident I was in Delhi and holding a meeting. The incident had taken place in Sector 19 and we stay in Harola village. It was a vendetta against me and my family to gain mileage and publicity. We had full faith in the judicial system and we finally got justice,” said Mr. Awana.
Another case
Meanwhile, another case involving the former DUSU president has showed little progress.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) summoned a top Delhi Police official over alleged inaction on a DU faculty's complaint that Mr. Awana had abused and threatened her.
A video, that’s gone viral on social media, purportedly shows Mr. Awana threatening Dean of DU Law Faculty Ved Kumari, even as police officers stand silently nearby. Ms. Kumari had approached the police and the DCW with a complaint against him.
