In the Nainital rape case, the key witness and neighbor of the alleged victim has withdrawn her earlier statement, admitting that she was coerced into giving a false testimony against 73-year-old Mohammad Usman, a Muslim contractor, reported the Bhaskar English.
According to the witness, the charges leveled against Usman were fabricated, and her initial statement was not voluntary. This development has cast serious doubts on the credibility of the entire case.
Usman’s lawyer has stated that the rape allegations are baseless and that the incident was deliberately given a communal angle to incite violence. He emphasized that the situation was manipulated to provoke unrest in the area.
The incident dates back to the night of April 30, when a woman arrived at the Mallital police station around 8 p.m. with her 12-year-old daughter, alleging that the girl had been raped by Mohammad Usman. An FIR was promptly registered.
Soon after the complaint, a mob gathered outside the police station, shouting slogans and demanding that Usman be handed over to them. The situation escalated as the crowd began pelting stones in the Bada Bazaar area. Several Muslim-owned shops were vandalized, and people trying to resist the violence were assaulted. The mob even attacked the nearby Jama Masjid with stones, further heightening communal tensions.
This case raises serious concerns about communal targeting, misuse of legal processes, and the role of misinformation in fueling violence.
