By IANS,
New Delhi: A city court is likely to pronounce its verdict Friday on the sensational Buddha Jayanti Park gang rape case of 2003 involving four members of the President’s Bodyguards as the accused.
Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Sarvaria had reserved the order last week and is likely to pronounce it Friday.
According to the prosecution, the victim had gone with her friend Ashish to the park near the Rashtrapati Bhavan Oct 6, 2003 and was raped by Harpreet and Satendra while Kuldeep and Manish kept guard.
The prosecution, which examined 25 witnesses to establish the rape charge, said that the accused had raped the victim, when she had gone there with her friend for sight-seeing.
However, Ranbir Sharma, advocate appearing for the key accused Harpreet, submitted before the court that “the accused have been framed in the case”.
During the arguments, the defence rubbished the recovery by police of various articles such as the victim’s handkerchief and a doll, that too, two days after the incident adding that these facts have never come out in the statements of the victim.
Kuldeep, in his defence, submitted that he did not commit any offence as he was busy gardening near the spot where the alleged rape occurred.
He alleged a frame-up and questioned the credibility of key witness Ashish, who identified him as one of the alleged rapists during the trial though he had failed to do so in the test identification proceedings earlier.
The accused, who belonged to the Presidents’ Bodyguards, have been booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code dealing with gang rape, kidnapping and robbery.
They first roughed up the victim’s friend and then took her to a secluded place inside the park before raping her, the prosecution alleged.