Muzaffarnagar : When Lokesh Kumar , now 50, walked out of UP’s Aligarh district jail for the first time in six years after being acquitted, there was no family member waiting for him at the prison gates or at home. I may have been released now, but I lost everything.”
As Kumar stepped into his empty house in Aligarh, he said, “My daughter is now dead. My wife, son are gone…
The prosecution’s claims were based on a police investigation, which had examined the area’s CCTV footage and stated that it showed Kumar walking with his daughter towards the place where she was found. The investigating officer showed the CCTV footage to witnesses, who identified Kumar and the minor. Hence, the footage was used by police to build their case.
the mandatory certificate required under section 65B (4) of the Evidence Act was not produced Although the CCTV footage purportedly showing Kumar with his daughter was heavily relied upon.
However, the “evidence” did not withstand judicial scrutiny. The court consequently did not treat the electronic evidence as legally proven. Also, there was no eyewitness to the exact crime scene and no clear motive could be established.
Kumar had been accused of murdering his 12-year-old daughter and sent to jail in 2020. In June 2020, Kumar, who worked as a daily-wager, first reported that his daughter had gone missing. He was then charged under IPC 302 (murder).
He was acquitted by an Aligarh court on Sept 1 after it ruled the “chain of circumstances put forward by prosecution was incomplete and raised serious doubts on the case”. “Villagers now say that his wife has died too,” added Chaudhary. Police also claimed to have recovered a hammer allegedly used to kill the child along with a shirt said to have been worn by Kumar.
His wife had walked away with their son after the trial began. During the trial, the prosecution held that Kumar was responsible for her death after the body was recovered. The prosecution further relied on forensic examination of the seized articles as part of its circumstantial case.
Rahul Chaudhary, an old friend who was the only one to stand by him, said Kumar may’ve won the legal battle today, but the lost years took a heavy toll on his life.