5 who ‘gang-raped’ minor let off with harassment charges by cops

MEERUT: Officers at a police station in Meerut have been accused of removing gang-rape charges in an FIR over assault on a 13-year-old, and inserting milder charges related to sexual harassment. According to the family of the survivor, the name of a sixth accused was removed from the FIR, and police personnel put off taking down the girl’s statement and getting her medical examination conducted.
“On December 21, my daughter was returning from attending classes at a madrassa in Mundali area when she was dragged away by one Majid to a spot near the mosque. Five others, including Sanavvar, Aas Mohammad, Ajju, Monu and an unidentified person then joined him and they gang-raped her. They also made a video of the act and threatened to release it online if she told anyone about the crime. They also threatened to kill her brothers,” said the father of the 13-year-old.
The family finally got to know and approached the Mundali police station on December 26 and submitted a complaint to file an FIR in the matter. The family members alleged that they were told to come back the next day, when, to their surprise, they found gang-rape charges were not present in the FIR.
“Police had only put in charges of sexual harassment. Also, one of the accused was not even mentioned. Police did not take my daughter’s statement under section 164 of CrPC, and her medical examination was not conducted.”
On Thursday, the family met with the superintendent of police (rural) Rajesh Kumar and complained about the policemen.
Kumar said, “I asked the officers about the reason behind the inaction and have ordered an inquiry into the matter, since they deny the allegations made by the family. Action will be taken against guilty officers if the inquiry proves they were negligent. Meanwhile, instructions have been given to the station house officer to get the girl’s statement recorded and, depending on her statement, relevant sections and names of accused will be added to the FIR.”
On Thursday evening, the survivor’s statement was recorded and her medical exam was also conducted.