A man who served 20 years in prison over false rape charges, was released from Agra Central Jail, after he was pronounced innocent by the Allahabad High Court in January this year. The man was jailed when he was barely 23 years old for a crime he never committed.
Vishnu Tiwari was sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment by a Lalitpur court following his conviction under the SC/ST Act. He was arrested in September 2000 on charges of rape and atrocities under the SC/ST Act. He was arrested after a woman of his village accused him of sexually assaulting and raping her.
The incident highlights the plight of the man besides reflecting on the sorry state of police in Uttar Pradesh. He was later sentenced to 20 years of life imprisonment and was shifted to Agra Central Jail.
According to reports, Vishnu lost all family members while he was in jail and has only a younger brother back at his village home in the Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Talking to the media after his release, Vishnu said that he had no expectation left from life. He said that he is broken from inside and so is his family. The man is left with a only paltry amount that he got from jail authorities at the time of his release. Vishnu claimed that after his conviction by the Lalitpur court, he lost the will to fight further and did not have the means to get a better lawyer either.
Vishnu was absolved of all the charges by the Allahabad High Court this January. Considering the pieces of evidence, the court opined that the medical evidence did not show any semblance of forcible intercourse and if the version of the prosecutrix is believed, the woman would have had some injuries which is not the case. Citing the medical evidence, the court said that the doctor did not find any sperm and they categorically opined against any sign of forcible sexual intercourse.
The court had also observed that the State should have considered commuting the sentence of Vishnu as he remained in prison for an extended period pending appeal. The court made a strong objection to the State not exercising its power for commuting his sentence even after Vishnu serving 14 years of incarceration.