Bangalore
Mirror: Bangalore: Monday, 04 January 2016.
Satya was
slapped with rape charges in 2010.
After five
harrowing years that saw the sole breadwinner of a family accused of rape, his
parents too slapped with charges, a trial that stretched over 150 hearings, and
the scourge of social ostracism that all of it brought: the New Year dawned
with vindication and victory.
In a symbolic
end to their miseries, the 54th CCH (City Court) acquitted Satya Prakash, 24,
on December 31, 2015, after concluding that the charges against him could not
be proved. The verdict is nothing short of a new life for Satya (pictured
right) and his family who had even contemplated a suicide pact to end their
miseries. They may even have taken the extreme step if not for the two men who
proved saviours defence counsel KBK Swamy (pictured below) and K Suresh
Nayakan, the proprietor of AK Tours and Travels.
November 27,
2010, will remain etched in the memories of Satya and his parents as the day
changed their lives irrevocably. It was on that day that 19-year-old Jessica S
lodged a complaint with Subramanyanagar police alleging Satya, then 19, and a
server with the Cafe Coffee Day outlet at Malleswaram, had threatened, abducted
and raped her. The timing couldn't have been worse. Satya was just two months
into his first job.
Satya was
slapped with rape charges and sent to jail till June 2011. His father Ravindra
and mother Lakshmi were also named as accused in the case. While Satya, who had
flunked PUC, hailed from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Jessica was a resident at
Brigade Gateway in Rajajinagar and had studied in a reputed school in North
Bengaluru.
THE
DEFENCE STAND
Swamy managed
to nail the 'victim's' lie with a document procured from prison authorities
under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. The document revealed that the victim
and her father had met Satya in Central Jail on December 16, 2010, along with
latter's maternal uncle Padmakar.
The case fell
on several other grounds as well. Besides Padmakar's admission, the complainant
and her father also had no explanation when the court questioned the need to
meet the 'rapist' even before the chargesheet was filed.
The dark
years
After the
incident, the family was boycotted in social circles. Satya was the sole
breadwinner, but lost his job. His younger brother was detained by police for
over a week. "I was framed for something I never did. My mummy and daddy
were made accused. I had to spend six months in jail."
Satya said
the initial three months in jail were hell. "As I was under-age, I was
beaten up and given harsh punishment. My relatives got wind of it. We were
humiliated and stopped attending family functions or even making social visits.
After my release, till November 2014, I was jobless. I didn't step out of the
house. The suffering made us think we should commit suicide, but Swamy sir was
a ray of hope," an emotional Satya told BM.
.JPG)
.JPG)
