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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
10 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
4.25 |
Year Crime: |
2013 |
Year Convicted: |
2015 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
India |
County or Region of Crime: |
Odisha |
City of Crime: |
Tigiria |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Litu Behera was wrongly convicted in September 19, 2015 of rape in Tigiria, India. Behera's conviction was based on the allegation of a woman that he had raped her in September 2013. The woman had been away from home for four days in Sept. 2013 when her mother lodged a complaint with the police that she was missing. When she was found at Behera's home she alleged that she had been gang raped by Behera and four other men. Behera's defense was that the woman was his lover and they had consensual sex, and the gang rape never happened. Behera claimed the woman made the rape claim after he turned down the marriage proposal put forth by the woman and her mother. After a bench trial Behera was convicted of rape, but the four other men charged were acquitted. Behera was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. Behera appealed. In January 2018 the Orissa High Court set-aside Behera's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Justice S.K. Sahoo wrote in the High Court's ruling: "In the absence of any clinching evidence that the victim was below the age of eighteen years, the surrounding circumstances under which the victim and the appellant when nobody was there in the Mundia, their previous love affair, the interestedness of the victim to marry the appellant as stated by her and absence of any evidence of protest by the victim to the sexual intercourse with her by the appellant, it cannot be said the appellant committed rape on the victim on the night of September 8, 2013, rather the victim can be stated to be a consenting party to the sexual intercourse with the appellant."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"In January 2018 the Orissa High Court set-aside Behera's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Justice S.K. Sahoo wrote in the High Court's ruling: "In the absence of any clinching evidence that the victim was below the age of eighteen years, the surrounding circumstances under which the victim and the appellant when nobody was there in the Mundia, their previous love affair, the interestedness of the victim to marry the appellant as stated by her and absence of any evidence of protest by the victim to the sexual intercourse with her by the appellant, it cannot be said the appellant committed rape on the victim on the night of September 8, 2013, rather the victim can be stated to be a consenting party to the sexual intercourse with the appellant."" |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Indian |
Information Source 1: |
"Man acquitted of rape charge, By Staff, The Telegraph (Calcutta, India), January 18, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/man-acquitted-of-rape-charge-201848 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org