Thane court acquits woman in trafficking case, calls prosecution claims 'hearsay'

A Thane court has acquitted a 36yearold woman accused of human trafficking holding that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt after key witnesses including the alleged victims and a decoy customer were not examined during the trialAdditional Sessions Judge RS Bhakare in an order passed on Wednesday acquitted Karuna alias Gudiya Hemant Biswas a resident of Shil Daighar in Thane district observing that crucial parts of the prosecutions case were based on hearsay rather than direct evidenceCourt cites absence of key witnessesAccording to the prosecution the AntiHuman Trafficking Cell of the Thane Police conducted a raid at Shiva Lodging and Boarding in Kalyan on August 26 2019 after deploying a decoy customerPolice claimed they found the accused in a room along with two women and recovered marked currency notes worth Rs 4500 during the operationHowever the court noted that neither the two alleged victims nor the decoy customer appeared before the court to testify during the trialThe judge observed that despite repeated attempts the prosecution failed to secure their presenceProsecution evidence termed hearsayThe court said the prosecutions inability to examine the alleged victims significantly weakened its caseThe witness summons had been sent to them but the prosecution could not secure their presence Several times the summons sent to the victims returned unserved As the victims have not been examined whatever they have disclosed before the prosecution witnesses is hearsay in nature It is a weak piece of evidence the court observedThe judge further noted that the decoy customer who could have provided direct evidence regarding the alleged offence was also not examinedAccording to the court his testimony would have been crucial to establish the prosecutions version of eventsEssential ingredients of offence not establishedThe court observed that under the provisions of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act the prosecution is required to establish elements such as active inducement control over victims or living on the earnings of prostitutionIt held that these essential ingredients could not be proved in the absence of testimony from the primary witnessesWithout direct evidence from the alleged victims or the decoy customer the prosecution failed to substantiate the allegations against the accused the court saidPanch witness found unreliableThe court also questioned the reliability of one of the prosecutions panch witnessesDuring crossexamination the witness admitted that he had signed both the preraid and postraid panchanamas at the police station instead of at the scene of the alleged raidThe court held that this admission undermined the credibility of his testimony and reduced its evidentiary valueAccused acquitted for lack of evidenceAfter examining the evidence presented during the trial the court concluded that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubtHolding that the evidence on record was insufficient to secure a conviction Additional Sessions Judge RS Bhakare acquitted Karuna alias Gudiya Hemant Biswas of all charges in the human trafficking caseWith inputs from PTI