Court acquits MKU prof in caste abuse case

Madurai: The third additional district and sessions court (PCR), Madurai, acquitted an assistant professor of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) who was booked for abusing a scheduled caste girl student using her caste name.The prosecution case is that J Shanmugaraja, also made sexually suggestive remarks during a smart classroom session.Following this incident, the Nagamalai Pudukkottai police registered a case and arrested him in 2023. He was booked under various sections of the IPC, sections of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He was subsequently released on bail. After concluding the investigation, police filed a chargesheet before the trial court.Recently, judge K Dhamodharan said that there was a total lack of independent evidence to support the charge, leaving the prosecution case resting solely on the testimony of the complainant (girl student). There was absolutely no evidence available on record to connect the accused with the alleged commission of the crime. The prosecution miserably failed to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt, the judge said, and acquitted Shanmugaraja.