PANAJI
In a setback to Goa police, the Special Court constituted under the POCSO Act has rejected Anti Human Trafficking Unit’s (AHTU) claim that a businessman was a victim of a honey trap and instead directed framing charges of rape against him. With this, the accused, a native of Gujarat, will proceed to trial.
Anant Tanna was initially booked for rape following allegations of raping a Kutch-based model during their trip to Goa in 2022. A chargesheet was also filed against him but another similar complaint led the police to a different angle. The accused later alleged that he was honey-trapped.
Last year, the Special Court also accepted the AHTU’s application to re-investigate the case after the development and evidence indicating Tanna may be a victim of honey trap and sextortion racket. The investigation team had pleaded to ‘ignore’ the already filed chargesheet and submitted a supplementary chargesheet with the new revelation. However, during the hearing on Thursday, the POCSO Court rejected the AHTU’s claim citing it is a fit case for framing charges of rape against him.
