Court acquits physically-challenged singer accused of driving teenager to commit suicide

Mumbai: A sessions court in Dindoshi has acquitted a physically-challenged singer who performed at a bar of driving a teenager, Abhishek Rasam, to commit suicide in February 2015. The police had claimed that the accused, Raju Sonune, had created a fake social media account and befriended with the victim posing as a girl. The police claimed that Sonune had induced the victim into speaking about sex on social media and later blackmailed him and sought money. It alleged that Sonune threatened to show Rasam’s comments about sex and an obscene photograph to his family, and the latter — unable to pay money — had jumped before a running train.

Acquitting Sonune of all the charges, sessions judge D.K. Bhende observed that the prosecution had failed to bring evidence to show that the accused was guilty of these charges.