Kolkata: Green activist Subhas Datta was acquitted on Monday of a molestation case that was levelled against him 24 years ago. This incident occurred when he went to plant saplings on a sandbar after the local panchayat, which had axed all trees, defied a Calcutta High Court Green Bench order to compensate for the loss by planting trees.
Datta and others went to Majher Char in Balagarh, situated near the Hooghly-Burdwan border, on two steamers. They had to retreat without carrying out the plantation after they were attacked, and one vessel was capsized. A woman filed a case at Balagarh PS against Datta on Feb 25, alleging that she was molested by him.
On Monday, Judicial Magistrate (4th Hooghly District Court) Harimoni Prasad Shah acquitted Datta for lack of evidence after the case dragged on for 24 years. The woman who levelled the accusation did not come forward to testify, and there were no witnesses to the alleged incident.
"Though the court asked the panchayat to plant trees, it did not do so for six months. When I went to plant trees, they filed a false case against me. I appeared in the case more than 25 times but never met the woman who levelled the accusation. Finally, I am glad the court acquitted me," Datta said.