Press Trust Of India : A fast-track court, which acquitted all the six accused in the alleged rape of an American student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai last year, has observed that the victim was never raped and no “sexual intercourse” took place.
The court at Sewree had acquitted the accused, all students, on October 6 for lack of evidence. A detailed copy of the judgement was made available to the lawyers on Tuesday.
The court’s observations that the victim was never raped and no “sexual intercourse” took place were noted in the 100-page document. It described the 23-year-old victim’s statements as “neither wholly reliable nor wholly unreliable”.

The case dates back to April 12, 2009 when, according to police, six friends – Vinamra Soni (23), Harshvardharn Yadav (22), Jaskaran Singh Bullar (21), Anish Borkatki (21), Dev Colabawala (21) and Kundanraj Bodgohai (22) took the student to a house in Andheri and allegedly gang raped her.
“The victim claims that she doesn’t remember anything about the incident that took place at the house of one of the accused (Bodgohai). In such a scenario there should be some corroborative, independent or medical evidence. No such evidence is available in this case,” the verdict said.
The court further said the victim, who had been out with her friend to meet the boys at Cafe XO bar in Deonar (where TISS is located), was not an invited guest and had just landed at the place without any prior notice.
“So there is no scope of any prior meeting of minds.The victim had gone to the caf out of her will and was never forced to accompany the boys (accused) to Kundan’s house at Andheri,” Principle Judge S D Jagmalani noted.
One of the important medical witnesses, Dr Minal Sarmarkar, did not support the prosecution’s claim that the victim was drugged with a date-rape drug. Sarmarkar had testified that the drug’s sample was not traced in her urine.
The prosecution has to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubts and there can be no presumptions that the victim would always tell the entire story truthfully, the Judge observed.
“The victim’s testimony falls under the third category – neither wholly reliable nor wholly unreliable. In this category, court has to circumspect and look for corroboration. Such corroborative evidence were not available in this case.”
The American student’s claim that she had fallen unconscious after the incident was rejected by the court. “The victim had called her friend (Rishabh Choksi) during the time she claimed she was outraged by the accused. The claim that she fell unconscious can not be accepted.”
It is true that the victim is a foreign national and the court has sympathy towards such foreign citizens but at the same time the court should not ignore basic principles of criminal law, the Judge maintained.

Excerpt from Mirror, reported by Anand Holla on October 07: Read Full Article

One of the accused, Jaskaran Singh, leaves the court with a family member after being acquitted of rape

Six youths who had been accused of raping an American girl in 2009 have been set free due to ‘lack of evidence’, believing that the girl is not a ‘reliable witness’ and her testimony lacks credibility.

Eighteen months after a 23-year-old American student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was allegedly gang raped, the case has wound up with all six accused acquitted.

The verdict pronounced by a Sewri fast track court on Wednesday caused considerable tremors as the police had filed a chargesheet against the accused based on the victim’s testimony after her medical and forensic report failed to confirm sexual assault.

On April 15, the TISS student had registered a complaint with the Trombay police alleging gang rape by six of her friends on April 12.

The complainant was here on a four-month course at the institute and had accompanied the men to XO bar in Deonar and subsequently accompanied them to an apartment in Andheri where she alleged she was drugged and gang raped.

In her statement the woman had said that it was only the next morning she realised she had been raped as the drugs had made her unconscious.

As reported by PTI Sep 1, 2010

A fast track trial court today recorded final statements of five of the six accused in the TISS rape case.
In the statement recorded under section 313 of CrPC, the accused denied all the allegations leveled against them for raping a US national, studying at the TISS institute, in April last year.

“The five accused told the court that they had gone out with the girl for partying and then returned to the house of one of the accused. They denied having raped her,” defence lawyer Rohini Salian said.

Six students – Vinamra Soni (23), Harshavardhan Yadav (22), Jaskaran Singh (21), Dev Colabawala (21), Anish Borkatki (21) and Kundanraj Borgonain (22) were arrested in April soon after the alleged incident.

According to the police, on April 12 last year, the victim had gone to a party with a hostelmate and six of her male friends. The group had snacked and consumed liquor at Deonar”s Cafe XO after which she, along with her male friends, went to Andheri. She was allegedly raped at Borgonain”s rented flat there.

The girl”s statement blames Soni as the main culprit who spiked her drink and raped her along with the other accused.
The court will record the statement of Borgonain on September 3.

As reported by PTI on 14th Jan 2010

The 23-year-old US national and student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) who was allegedly gangraped is likely to depose against the six accused on January 27.

A fast track court had on January 7 framed charges against the six accused and the prosecution today submitted all the medical and forensic documents that would be produced as evidence.

The prosecution will examine 27 witnesses to establish their case against the accused persons.

The six accused – Vinamra Soni, Harshvardhan Yadav, Jashkaran Bhullar, Anish Borkataki, Dev Colabawala and Kundanraj Borgohain- will face trial under section 376 (g) of IPC which deals with gangrape.

The case dates back to April 2009 when the accused first met the victim at a pub near TISS in suburban Deonar and then took her to Borgohain’s flat in suburban Andheri where they allegedly raped her.

Excerpt from DNA by Bratatee Barman on January 8, 2010: Read Full Article

Paving way for the trial to begin, a Sewri fast-track court on Wednesday framed charges against the six accused involved in the rape of a student from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Tiss).

The accused, Harshvardhan Yadav, Anish P Borkataki, Vinamra Soni, Jaskaran D Bhullar, , Dev Kolabawala and Kundan Raj Borgohain – have been charged of gang rape. Borgohain is the only accused who is out on bail in the case.

Additional sessions judge SD Jagmalani read out the charges to the accused, huddled in the witness box. They had all pleaded not guilty.

The court charged them under section 376 (g) of IPC for gang rape. The case will come up for hearing on January 1

As reported in Indian Express on Dec 25, 2009

The vacation bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to hear the discharge plea of one of the accused in the alleged gangrape of a US national studying at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Deonar. Vacation judge S J Kathawala was of the opinion that the matter needs to be heard at length and adjourned the hearing to January 4, the opening day of court after vacation.

One of the accused, Kundan Raj Borgohain (23), has moved the High Court seeking discharge from the case on the grounds that he is already out on bail and there was no prima facie material against him.

When the state government informed the court that the framing of charges is due in the case, HC judge directed that the sessions judge frame the charges on January 5, so that the discharge plea can be decided prior to that.

After the alleged gangrape of a US national studying at TISS in May this year, Borgohain was released on bail in September. Borgohain was arrested after it came to light that the victim was gangraped in his Andheri house. He, however, claimed that he is in no way connected with the act. His main contention for seeking discharge plea was that just because the alleged crime occurred in his house does not indicate his involvement. He said he has no contact with the girl or anything to do with the alleged incident.

Excerpt from DNA , reported by Mayura Janwalkar on Thursday, November 19, 2009: Read Full Article

The accused in the Tiss gang rape case in April will have a longer stay in prison. While one on them, Anish Borkataki, withdrew his bail application, the Bombay high court, on Wednesday, rejected the application of Dev Colabawala.

Justice VM Kanade said that the case of the two young men, in jail for the last seven months, was “not as straight forward” as their counsels made it out to be. When the court indicated that it was not likely to grant bail to the accused, Borkataki withdrew his bail application. Since, Colabawala did not follow suit, the court rejected his plea.

The duo had contended that they were only present at Cafe XO in Govandi with the victim and the other accused. They also said that they were in the Andheri flat where the alleged incident took place, but did not commit the crime.

Excerpt from DNA, reported by Mayura Janwalkar on Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Read Full Article

Two of the men accused of raping a foreign student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Tiss) in April this year have sought bail from the Bombay high court stating that although they were present in the flat where the alleged incident took place, they were not in the bedroom and had committed no crime.

“At the highest, we would plead guilty for being drunk. Nothing more than that,” said advocate DU Mirajkar arguing for Dev Colabawala, an accused. Representing the other accused Anish Borkataki, advocate Majeed Memon said, “I [Borkataki] did not speak to her [the victim], I did not even touch her.”

Both the accused have sought bail on the grounds that a case of rape itself has not been made out based on the technical evidence. They also said that their case was “almost the same” like that of Kundan Raj Borghohain, who was enlarged on bail. Borghohain, who stayed in the Andheri flat where the alleged rape took place, was granted bail in September as the court felt that he did not share the common intention with the other accused.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, October 29, 2009 /India PRwire/ — LeapVault an organization development consulting firm in exclusive partnership with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) announced the Chief Learning Officer: CLO Summit India 2009. The first-of-its-kind event in the field of organization learning and development will be held in Mumbai at the TISS Convention Centre in Deonar, on 20th November, 2009.

The inaugural annual CLO Summit 09 shall be a premier platform for evangelizing and promoting Organizational Learning & Development that would help catalyze the creation and effective dissemination of best and innovative practices across corporates, institutions, NGOs, government bodies and practitioners through effective interaction, debate and research.

A day filled with inspiring keynotes, a few crisp panel discussions and stimulating presentations, the event will witness the presence of eminent speakers such as Mr. Bhaskar Chatterjee (Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India), Mr. Arun Balakrishnan (HPCL), Mr. Thomas Varghese (Aditya Birla Retail), Ms. Shaheen Mistri (Teach for India), Mr. Yogi Sriram (L & T), Ms. Susan Bloch (Aditya Birla Group), Mr. Kalyan Banerjee (Mindtree), Ms. Suchitra Rajendra (PepsiCo), Mr. Nilesh Kulkarni (Novartis Consumer Health), Captain Mohanlal J P (SBI Life Insurance) alongwith notable personalities from the Indian PSU sector including BPCL, ONGC and IOC.

How can organizational learning become a source of competitive advantage and continuous change? How can organizations use learning as a tool to innovate, differentiate themselves in order to attract and retain Talent, Customers and Investors? The CLO summit shall endeavour to find answers to these questions and some other key areas through interaction and debate amongst some of the best minds in the field.

Extending his support to the initiative, as a key member of the Advisory Board, Dr. A. K. Khandelwal (Chairman, Baroda Pioneer AMC & Ex Chairman Bank of Baroda) excerpts, “Learning is no more optional for the corporations. Learning is beyond training. In a competitive scenario, learning is a new business function that helps an organization to continuously convert ideas into actionable business outcomes, innovations into new products and imagination to constantly raise the bar of performance. CLO is a new business manager, a new crusader to constantly prepare an organization to meet talent competition.”

Mr. Kumaar Bagrodia, Initiative Founder for the summit believes, “The ‘demographic dividend’ that India is set to reap in the context of the global market for talent will shape the entire economy in time to come. The position of the Chief Learning Officer whether designated or role based is extremely crucial in driving the next level of organizational learning, innovation, culture and the very DNA of the organization.”

About LeapVault:

LeapVault is an organization development consulting, executive training and executive recruitment company. It offers comprehensive solutions that are superlative and path breaking to cater to the needs of premier organizations and individual professionals. The company is spearheaded by Mr. Kumaar Bagrodia who has over a decade of cross functional expertise across industries and businesses both as a senior executive and an entrepreneur. He has worked with companies like Progeon (Infosys, Nasdaq:Infy) and WNS (NYSE:WNS) where he was an associate director. He is a certified master trainer, coach and facilitator by Spencer Johnson Partners and is the Chief Evangelist for Who Moved My Cheese? in India.

Kumaar holds an MBA degree from the University of Oxford and is a Country Champion and Ambassador for the Oxford Business Alumni in India and is the National Co-Chairman Learning of CII YI (Confederation of Indian Industry).

About Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS):

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936 with a vision to be an institution of excellence in higher education that continually responds to the changing social realities through the development and application of knowledge, towards creating a people-centered and ecologically sustainable society that promotes and protects the dignity, equality, social justice and human rights for all, with special emphasis on marginalized and vulnerable groups.

As reported in ZEENEWS on Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A local court on Monday extended till July 20 the judicial custody of the six accused in the TISS gang rape case even as police said it had statements of over 35 witnesses in the 300-odd page chargesheet filed in this regard.

Six persons have been charged with gang-raping a 23- year-old US national, who was a student of the city-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), in April.

The accused — Vinamra Soni, Jaskaran Singh Bhullar alias Karan, Harshawardhan Yadav, Anish Borkataki and Kundan Borgonain — were today given a copy of the chargesheet and their judicial custody was extended till July 20.

According to the testimony given by the victim’s close friend Rishab Choksi, the girl had called him up on April 14 stating that she was gang raped.

Choksi recalled the conversation he had with the victim a day before the incident happened when the victim was out with the six accused and her friend Annie Brown.

“On April 12 between 2 am and 5.30 am, I received a missed all from the victim. When I called her back, she said that she was with five boys in a flat at Andheri (a western suburb). She asked me to come but I told her that I was in South Mumbai and thus could not go,” Choksi said.

He further said that on April 14 when he was in Kolkata, the victim called him and said that the five boys had raped her and told him that she was on her way to the police station to lodge a complaint.

Another key witness, Annie Brown, who had accompanied the victim and the accused to a cafe in Deonar (where TISS is located) on the night of the offence, has told the police that it was just a friendly get together between a bunch of friends.

Autorickshaw drivers, who had dropped the five accused and the victim to the flat of co-accused Kundanraj in Andheri, supported the prosecution and the victim’s story.

While the victim had returned to her house in the US and secured admission in a college, the police are primarily relying on the statements of these witnesses and medical evidence to prove their case.