Stories
Bageshwar Dham Case: HC Orders SIT Probe After Victim Retracts Rape Allegation
- •The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered a fresh investigation into the Bageshwar Dham rape case after a DNA test failed to confirm the accused as the biological father.
- •Justice Ajay Kumar Niranjan of the Jabalpur Bench directed the Superintendent of Police of Chhatarpur to form an SIT to find the biological father and true perpetrator within two months.
- •The 16-year-old victim had initially accused Raju Jatav of rape after leaving home in March, but later retracted her statement during court proceedings.
- •The High Court noted stark discrepancies between the victim's initial magistrate statement and her subsequent statements in court.
Key Questions Answered
The Jabalpur Bench of the High Court ordered a fresh investigation because a DNA test failed to confirm the accused as the biological father of the fetus, and the victim retracted her initial statement by stating in court that the accused did not rape her, creating a stark discrepancy with her earlier police statements.
According to the public prosecutor, the victim left her home on March 15 after a fight with her mother and reached Bageshwar Dham, where she met the accused, Raju Jatav, two days later. Raju allegedly raped her that night in a field near the ashram and kept her with him for 15 days before taking her to Pachore by train.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed Raju Jatav's second bail application on September 25, with the order being uploaded to the court's website on October 4.
