After the gruesome rape and mutilation of a five-year-old girl in the national capital and an alleged attempt by the police to hush up the case, the enquiry ordered by the MHA is also looking into whether any Delhi police officials are guilty of dereliction of duty or failure to record information given, a charge punishable, for the first time, with imprisonment of up to one year and a fine under the new anti-rape law, sources said.
Sources said all aspects will be scrutinised in the enquiry and suitable action will be taken against erring police personnel. It is only after the MHA asked the police chief to take action against erring personnel that the Delhi police acted against them, senior government sources said. On Friday night, the Delhi police suspended one ACP, an SHO and an investigating officer. The victim’s father has alleged that the police had offered him `2,000 to keep quiet and advised him to thank god that his daughter was alive.
President Pranab Mukherjee and vice-president Hamid Ansari on Saturday expressed deep anguish and dismay over the incident. “I am shocked and deeply anguished at the latest incident of sexual assault and rape of a five-year-old child in Delhi. I join her family in praying for a speedy recovery and call upon the concerned authorities to ensure the best possible medical attention for her,” Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson Venu Rajamony quoted the President as saying. The President called for urgent introspection to identify the causes behind the repeated failure of society to ensure the security of women and children. He asked people to pledge all “energy and effort into ensuring that such aberrations, which stain our moral fibre and standing as a society, are prevented”.
Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has asked chief secretary D.M. Spolia to coordinate with AIIMS to ensure the child gets the best possible treatment and offer all necessary help to the family. Mr Shinde also promised action against policemen found guilty of trying to hush up the case.
by allegedly offering money to the victim’s parents. “We are waiting for the enquiry report. Give us some time, we will take action,” he told reporters. Terming the incident as very serious, he said everyone has to be alert to check such crimes.
Meanwhile, during the initial interrogation, Kumar told investigators that he left home at 7 pm on April 15 to catch the Swatantrata Senani Express which left Delhi at 8.30 pm, said East District DCP Prabhakar. The girl’s mother had told police that the victim, who was playing outside their home, went missing around 6 pm and, if the versions of both the mother and Kumar are to believed, the abduction and brutal rape took place within one hour. “Kumar also told us that he left the house thinking that the girl was dead. The girl was inside the house for 40 hours,” Mr Prabhakar said. Asked about allegations that no woman constable accompanied the girl when she was taken to hospital, he said the MLC has recorded the presence of the two women constables at the time of the incident.