"Gropers may get away"

A refusal to lodge an official complaint will make it impossible for police to prove charges against accused, according to top cops and lawyers.The refusal of the two victims in the Juhu groping case to file a complaint or record thier statements before the police may enable the accused to go scot free, even if they are arrested and prosectuted, say top cops and leading lawyers.Lawyers say if the victims do not come forward to record their statement and identify the accused in court, there is no way the the police will be able to prove charges against the accused - this despite the guilty men being caught in the act by a journalist, and published photographs clearly showing some of their faces.Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has reportedly said on the case, "In the victim's absence, it's very difficult to establish guilt of the accused & the accused will go scot-free." Two couples were set upon by a mob of at least 40 people early on New Year's day as they emerged out of Hotel J W Marriott in Mumbai's Juhu area. The California-based couples were in the city to attend a family function and in fact, one of them had got married just a day earlier. Despite the victims being taken to the Juhu police station after the incident, a complaint was reportedly not lodged immediately since officials there were unsure under whose jurisdiction the place of the incident falls. The pictures were first published in a leading daily and have sparked a public outcry.Meanwhile after refusing to file an FIR in the case initially police have picked up seven people from the Sion area for questioning.HT journalist Satish Bate who had alerted the traffic police officer on the night of the incident, told TIMES NOW no one from Mumbai police had contacted him to record his statement.

"Police must not shift the buck"Speaking on the prosecution's chances to win the case even when victims were not forthcoming, leading criminal lawyer Majid Memon said it would be difficult, but certainly not impossible to convict the accused as it was up to the police to make the best use of their skills to collect enough evidence."

To punish is the duty of court. Police must collect evidence. The incident occurred in the public eye on road and the women were subjected to humiliation. It has been indeed an eye opener, and the cops must ensure that such eve teasers or molestors fear law - thefore the law must be allowed to take its course. Evidence must be meticulously collected, no matter if eventually the court is unable to convict the accused. If police cannot collected enough evidence, they cannot shift the buck and excuse themselves saying none came forward with testimony so they were unable to prosecute the offenders," said Memon.Memon added that in some cases the court has believed the testimony of eye witnesses even sans the victims. "And FIR need not be lodged only by the victims - in sensitive and unusual cases like this, if there is an FIR and it is taken cognisance of by police, criminal law is set into motion. Cops will have to collect the victims - if they are not forthcomnig, they must collect eyewitnesses. A careful and judcious approach is needed by highranking policemen to collect the evidence available. In this case photos visible on television screens are also available. After doing their job well they should leave it to the court," said Memon. He added that though courts as well police have the power to summon the victims if identified, this is a coercive step seldom resorted to."If victim had been killed, would the police have shut the case?"Another senior criminal lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, has flatly refused to accept that prosecution would get hampered by the victim's absence."The photographs are enough proof that a cognisable crime has been committed, and criminal law has been set in motion. The police should and must take action, even if the victims are not there. The photographs and testimony/complaint of the photographer and senior traffic official who witnessed the act, is enough to get the men charged and convicted in a court of law if necessary."If the victim was killed, would the police have shut the case on that ground? They are just trying to pass the buck. It's about time the police know the workings of the law. I have come across many cases of police not registering cases as some are interested in showing crime rate has reduced. Every police official should reliase that if a crime committed you don't need a formal complaint to prove it," said Maneshinde.