A Maharashtra court on Thursday acquitted Bollywood actor Vijay Raj in a sexual harassment case filed by a colleague in 2020 and said that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence against him.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Gondia) Mahendra Sorate removed the allegations against the actor under Section 354-A (sexual harassment) and 354-D (chasing) of the Indian Penal Code.
A colleague had alleged that the actor had sexually assaulted him during the shooting of the film Sheri about five years ago. According to a complaint lodged at Ramnagar police station in Gondia, the alleged crime was committed late on October 25, 2020.
On November 4, 2020, Raj was arrested from Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh. The same day, he was released on bail. The order said that the complainant said that the incident took place in a hotel, but the investigating officer did not go on the spot.
The judge said that the complainant had mentioned the names of two-three people working in the hotel, but their statements were not recorded. The court said, the investigating officer did not conduct any further investigation. Therefore, the evidence presented by the prosecution seems weak and insufficient.
Even in the seized CCTV footage, the accused is not clearly visible by doing alleged acts. The court said that the prosecution has failed to prove the crime of the accused decisively, so the accused gets the benefit of doubt.
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