If sources to be believed, Parbat Singh Rana, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly raping a British journalist in 2007 has been acquitted by the High Court and will be released soon. Though the news is already swelling in the local media circle of Udaipur, an official statement from any responsible authority is still awaited.

“He will be released soon, I can’t comment more at this time”, Parbat Singh Rana’s legal representative Advocate Rajendra Singh Hiran told UT.

Rana, a local hotelier was convicted of raping a British woman staying in his guest house at Naga Nagri, Udaipur on December 23, 2007. Udaipur’s fast-track court had sentenced Rana to imprisonment for life on 30^th April, 2008 but the Rajasthan High Court had granted him bail on 29^th July, 2008.

Another twist emanated in the case when Rana escaped after the Supreme Court had cancelled his bail. Rana remained untraceable for a year before he was finally arrested by the Rajasthan Police from Vapi, Gujarat in 2009.

Inputs by Sohail Khan