Freed in rape case, man seeks damages

ByAbhinav Garg, TNN | Mar 16, 2013, 03.34 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Even as he petitions the Supreme Court for "return of dignity", the man acquitted in the Mayapuri rape case is pursuing a suit in the Delhi high court, where he has demanded around Rs 5 crore as compensation. 

Niranjan Kumar Mandal was acquitted in the Mayapuri rape case by a trial court but was again picked up by the police as a suspect in the 2010 Dhaula Kuan gangrape case. He was later released on the direction of the high court after his wife filed a petition saying her husband was arrested despite the fact that the police were clueless in the case. 

Mandal wants the SC to aid in his rehabilitation so that he can lead a normal life. 

In the compensation suit, which he filed in HC in 2011, Mandal alleged he was framed by the police in the Mayapuri gang rape case. He arraigned the state government, the police commissioner and Om Wati, the then SHO of Hari Nagar police station, as respondents. He sought a CBI inquiry into his framing and subsequent custodial torture in the case. The case is now before a joint registrar's court. 

Seeking Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation, Mandal told HC that he was forced to leave Delhi after his release as he feared that the police might kill him in a fake encounter to suppress the truth. He also claimed he was picked up by the police on the pretext of questioning and was later tortured in the lock-up. The police in its reply rebutted the allegations claiming these are a "figment of Mandal's imagination". Seeking dismissal of his suit, Delhi Police argued that Mandal was acquitted by the trial court as he got 'benefit of doubt' and was arrested on basis of evidence that was "enough to show his involvement" in the rape case. Through government counsel Anjum Javed, the police maintained they have no "personal grudge" against Mandal but were only investigating the case as per their official duty. 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Freed-in-rape-case-man-seeks-damages/articleshow/18998296.cms