Mumbai: The evening of his life spent behind bars, Abdul Gani Abdul Quddus Shaikh walked free at the ripe old age of 93 after the City Civil and Sessions Court found no incriminating material to prosecute him on charges of gang raping a minor.
Three decades ago, when he was 61 years old, Mr. Shaikh was prosecuted for offences under Section 376 G (gang rape) and Section 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the Indian Penal Code. The other accused in the case, Sayyed Ibrahim, died a few years ago.
On September 28, 1986, a minor reported that she had gone to her neighbours to borrow kerosene when Mr. Sayyed and Mr. Shaikh gagged her, took her into a room and took turns to rape her. She claimed they also threatened her against reporting the incident to anyone.
However, she told her neighbour, one Rani, about the incident by writing it on a chit and a first information report (FIR) was registered. Mr. Shaikh denied the charge saying the victim and her husband were his tenants and because he asked them to vacate the premises, she lodged a false case against him. The court recorded that the prosecution did not prove that the accused raped the victim, and that Mr. Shaikh was present at the scene at time of the crime.
The prosecutor informed the court that most of the witnesses in the case have died, including the victim and her husband. The counsel for Mr. Shaikh has argued that there is no evidence to prove the crime. The witnesses available said there was an inordinate delay in lodging the FIR and that there was no forced intercourse.
The sub-inspector identified Mr. Shaikh but could not remember that he investigated the case. On the other hand, the senior police inspector who took on the case said many years have passed since the case and he did not remember his role in it. He retired from service in 1994.
Additional Sessions Judge G O Agrawal recorded, “This is one of the oldest cases in the file of this court, which dates back to the year 1987. Having gone through the available evidence and record of the case, it can be gathered that there is absolutely no evidence against Mr. Shaikh to prove any of the charges. No independent witness has been examined, there is no medical evidence of the victim and there is nothing incriminating against Mr. Shaikh. Therefore, he shall be released from jail forthwith.”
