Give me bail or death penalty: Rape accused

Mumbai: A teacher who was arrested in an alleged rape case in Navi Mumbai has gone on a hunger strike in Thane jail where he was lodged after his arrest. Despite the fact that the DNA test came negative against him in the case, the accused has been unable to get bail. The accused, Harishankar Shukla, has sent letter to the Chief Justice of the Bombay high court, requesting bail or the death penalty.

The DNA report of Shukla, who was arrested last December by the Nerul police for his alleged rape of a 13-year-old student of a Navi Mumbai school, has allegedly come out negative. The test was carried out to match Shukla’s genetic similarity with the remains of the foetus that was preserved from the time the girl underwent an alleged abortion after the rape.

Shukla was arrested on December 13, 2016. His wife Anjali Shukla said, “ I know my husband is innocent and even DNA report proved that. The results of the report came in the February. If he is innocent, why can’t he get bail? I have three children and my husband is the only breadwinner. The false case already ruined my husband’s image, but now if we will do not get justice I am also going on hunger strike. My husband has already started his hunger strike in jail.”

The case was registered in September 2016 by the Nerul police under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Shukla had been arrested after the girl alleged that he had raped her twice by threatening her with dire consequences.