Keshpur (WB): A resident of West Bengal's Keshpur who was booked for rape in 2017 was proven innocent on Thursday following a DNA test ordered by the Midnapore court. Five years ago, a minor accused the youth of allegedly having a physical relationship with her on the pretext of marriage. The youth was forcefully married to her later.
The incident occurred in 2017 when the girl, a resident of the Anandpur area of Keshpur, got pregnant while she was 13 years old. The girl's family accused a 22-year-old neighbor youth of impregnating her with false promises of marriage. The youth immediately trashed all allegations, but the panchayat arranged a kangaroo court, and the youth was forced to marry the girl.
The disdain within the youth reached a nadir, who fled from home and filed a suit in the Midnapore court implicating his minor wife and her family for framing him. Following a court order of a DNA test of the mother (who is now 18) and the child, it was found that the youth is not the father of the child born after the forced wedlock.
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After this revelation, the court ordered the woman's and her mother's arrest. The youth demanded justice after the court order didn't have much bearing on the local police who avoided the matter and did not arrest the woman and her mother.
The court then ordered a probe to find the child's biological father. According to a source, the 18-year-old woman was subsequently arrested but is at par currently on conditional bail. The youth's lawyer, Shamik Banerjee, targeted the cops for botching up the investigation.
"The DNA test proves that the young woman cheated on my client when she was still a minor. The police arrested her on the orders of the court. However, the court granted her conditional bail for several reasons. The Anandpur police have made several mistakes. That is why the real father of the girl child has not come forward yet. Moreover, on whose advice my client was framed in this way, is still not clear. The truth will come out only after proper investigation of the incident," advocate Shamik Banerjee said.
