Madhya Pradesh court acquits former councillor whose home was razed in 2021 after rape allegation

A court in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district has acquitted a former councillor of rape charges, holding that the woman who accused him did so because her home was demolished based on a complaint he had raised with the civic authorities, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

The woman had claimed that the man, Shafiq Ansari, raped her in February 2021 on the pretext of offering help for her son’s marriage. After the complaint, the civic authorities in Rajgarh had bulldozed Ansari’s home as well.

There are no provisions in Indian law that allow for demolishing property as a punitive measure. However, civic administrations in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have frequently resorted to this practice – with Muslims often being the targets of such actions.

In Ansari’s case, the prosecution claimed that he had called the woman to his home on February 4, 2021, on the pretext of offering help and then raped her.

The woman’s home had been demolished earlier by the civic authorities on the grounds of clearing encroachments. Her neighbours had reportedly complained that the house was being used for illegal narcotic trade.

First Additional Sessions Judge Chitrendra Singh Solanki said on February 14 that there were inconsistencies in the statements of the woman and her husband, according to The Indian Express. The judge said…

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