Srinagar: A fast track court on Thursday convicted a judicial officer for rape and cheating a woman who had sought legal help from him in 2018, news agency GNS reported.
“The conclusion that emerges from the discussion is that all the evidence on record unerringly point toward the guilt of the accused,” Khalil Choudhary, Presiding Officer Fast Track Court Jammu, said as per GNS while holding a sub-judge Rakesh Kumar Abrol guilty of raping and cheating a woman on the pretext of providing her legal help.
“There is complete chain of events and facts to indicate that within all human probability the crime was committed by the accused (Abrol) and all the circumstances brought on record and established are consistent with the guilt of (Abrol) and inconsistent with his innocence,” Choudhary observed.
While convicting Abrol for the offenses under section 420 (cheating) and 376 (rape), the court posted the matter for Saturday with regard to the quantum of sentence.
As per the prosecution, the victim woman, a resident of Ramban, met Abrol of Lower Roop Nagar Jammu while she was contesting a case. Being a judicial officer, Abrol promised legal help and sought domestic support from her. Having a minor girl to support, the woman started working in the house of sub-judge who also promised better education to her daughter. The accused promised to pay her Rs 5000 per month as salary, the prosecution said.
For seeking legal support accused dissolved her marriage with her husband by getting divorce deed which was notarized and accused told one of his PSO’s to be the witness to it, the prosecution said. After sometime, the woman’s parents desisted her to work with Abrol as they wanted to take her to their home.
“As and when (Abrol) got knowledge that she is going to leave his home, he requested her not to leave and filled he ‘Maang’ with ‘Babuti’ and told her that ‘she is his wife now’,” the prosecution said as per GNS, adding, “(Abrol) also told her that he had parted with his wife and is residing alone for the last seven years.”
Abrol also told her that he is a judge and has knowledge about the legalities after which she believed him and married with him, the prosecution said.
“By doing so, the accused secured her consent to have sexual intercourse with her. She succumbed to his pressure and did not share the same with anyone around,” the prosecution said.
“The accused planned to have ‘Saptapadi’ with her and he solemnized marriage with her in his house at Roop Nagar in presence of PSO Ashok Jamwal, his friend Darshan Gupta and one Pandit from Doda called.”
As per the prosecution, after one year of marriage with Abrol, the woman came to know that he had betrayed her by marrying her while being married to one Neetu Bala as he had already divorced his first wife named Surbhi.
