News Analysis India

Tag: rape

  • UP: BJP MLA, son booked after woman alleges rape, harassment 

    By PTI

    AGRA: A BJP MLA has been booked for harassment and his son for alleged rape after a 36-year-old woman lodged a complaint against them, police said on Wednesday.

    According to the FIR registered at Tajganj Police Station, the woman was allegedly raped by Laxmi Kant Verma, son of BJP MLA from the Fatehabad constituency Chhotey Lal Verma, back in 2003 when she was 17 years old.

    The woman was a friend of the MLA’s daughter and would visit their house frequently, she said in her complaint.

    On November 16, 2003, Laxmi Kant Verma gave her a drink allegedly laced with sedatives and after she fainted, he raped her, the woman said.

    She claimed that the accused recorded a video of the act and threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone about it, according to the complaint.

    The woman said sometime later, Laxmi Kant Verma married her at a temple and got her a job as a receptionist at a cyber cafe in Agra that was owned by him and his friend.

    The couple’s firstborn was a girl and as the accused wanted the second child to be male, he forced her to get an abortion.

    She later gave birth to a son, the woman said.

    In 2006, Laxmi Kant Verma married another woman from Rajasthan after forcing the complainant to sign divorce papers, according to the FIR.

    The woman said the BJP MLA and other family members of the accused were responsible for destroying her and her two children’s lives.

    SHO Tajganj Police Station Bhupendra Baliyan said, “The complaint has been registered against Laxmikant Verma under sections 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage), 323 and 328 (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 494 (bigamy) of the Indian Penal Code.”

    AGRA: A BJP MLA has been booked for harassment and his son for alleged rape after a 36-year-old woman lodged a complaint against them, police said on Wednesday.

    According to the FIR registered at Tajganj Police Station, the woman was allegedly raped by Laxmi Kant Verma, son of BJP MLA from the Fatehabad constituency Chhotey Lal Verma, back in 2003 when she was 17 years old.

    The woman was a friend of the MLA’s daughter and would visit their house frequently, she said in her complaint.

    On November 16, 2003, Laxmi Kant Verma gave her a drink allegedly laced with sedatives and after she fainted, he raped her, the woman said.

    She claimed that the accused recorded a video of the act and threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone about it, according to the complaint.

    The woman said sometime later, Laxmi Kant Verma married her at a temple and got her a job as a receptionist at a cyber cafe in Agra that was owned by him and his friend.

    The couple’s firstborn was a girl and as the accused wanted the second child to be male, he forced her to get an abortion.

    She later gave birth to a son, the woman said.

    In 2006, Laxmi Kant Verma married another woman from Rajasthan after forcing the complainant to sign divorce papers, according to the FIR.

    The woman said the BJP MLA and other family members of the accused were responsible for destroying her and her two children’s lives.

    SHO Tajganj Police Station Bhupendra Baliyan said, “The complaint has been registered against Laxmikant Verma under sections 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage), 323 and 328 (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 494 (bigamy) of the Indian Penal Code.”

  • Body of minor Dalit girl recovered in UP’s Budaun; family alleges evidence tampering by police

    By PTI

    BUDAUN: The body of a minor Dalit girl was recovered near the railway line in Faizganj Behta police station area of Budaun district on Saturday, police said.

    The family members of the girl have alleged that she was murdered after rape.

    According to the police, the body of the girl aged 15 years was recovered in a village in the Faizganj Behata police station area on Saturday morning and has been sent for postmortem.

    The family has alleged that the police picked up the body without informing them and sent it for post-mortem, adding that they came to know about the incident only after the police called them to the post-mortem house to identify the deceased.

    “A policeman informed us that our daughter had met with an accident and called us to identify the body,” the uncle of the deceased told PTI.

    “The distance from our village to the incident site is one and a half kilometers,” he said, adding, “the police have erased all the evidence from the scene.”

    ALSO READ | Lakhimpur Kheri sisters’ deaths: Post-mortem report confirms rape, strangulation

    After the information, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) OP Singh, who reached the spot, said a case is being filed at the police station and strict action will be taken in this matter.

    He said a post-mortem is being conducted by a panel of doctors and videography of the entire examination process will also be done.

    Based on the final report, action will be taken by increasing the number of sections registered in the case and if someone is found guilty, that person will be arrested, the SSP added.

    BUDAUN: The body of a minor Dalit girl was recovered near the railway line in Faizganj Behta police station area of Budaun district on Saturday, police said.

    The family members of the girl have alleged that she was murdered after rape.

    According to the police, the body of the girl aged 15 years was recovered in a village in the Faizganj Behata police station area on Saturday morning and has been sent for postmortem.

    The family has alleged that the police picked up the body without informing them and sent it for post-mortem, adding that they came to know about the incident only after the police called them to the post-mortem house to identify the deceased.

    “A policeman informed us that our daughter had met with an accident and called us to identify the body,” the uncle of the deceased told PTI.

    “The distance from our village to the incident site is one and a half kilometers,” he said, adding, “the police have erased all the evidence from the scene.”

    ALSO READ | Lakhimpur Kheri sisters’ deaths: Post-mortem report confirms rape, strangulation

    After the information, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) OP Singh, who reached the spot, said a case is being filed at the police station and strict action will be taken in this matter.

    He said a post-mortem is being conducted by a panel of doctors and videography of the entire examination process will also be done.

    Based on the final report, action will be taken by increasing the number of sections registered in the case and if someone is found guilty, that person will be arrested, the SSP added.

  • Maharashtra: Teenage girl gang-raped; merchant navy employee, history-sheeter among three held

    By PTI

    THANE: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in Maharashtra’s Thane district, and all three accused involved in the offence have been arrested, police said on Sunday.

    While one of the accused works in the field of merchant navy, another one is a history-sheeter, they said, adding that the incident occurred on August 26.

    “On Friday afternoon, the trio took the girl to a flat at Kalher in Bhiwandi. They tied her hands before sexually assaulting her. When she resisted their attempts, one of the accused bit her,” an official of Thane crime branch (unit V) said.

    The accused, identified as Sachin Kamble (30), Akash Kanojia (22) and Asu (20) were later arrested based on a complaint lodged by the victim at Chitalsar police station in Wagle Estate division of Thane city, he said.

    The victim and the accused reside in Wagle Estate area, he said.

    “Offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been registered against the three accused,” the official added.

    A senior official said that while Kanojia worked in the field of merchant navy, Kamble had a number of offences registered against him in Wagle Estate area.

    The third accused is a vagabond, he said.

    Further details are awaited.

    THANE: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in Maharashtra’s Thane district, and all three accused involved in the offence have been arrested, police said on Sunday.

    While one of the accused works in the field of merchant navy, another one is a history-sheeter, they said, adding that the incident occurred on August 26.

    “On Friday afternoon, the trio took the girl to a flat at Kalher in Bhiwandi. They tied her hands before sexually assaulting her. When she resisted their attempts, one of the accused bit her,” an official of Thane crime branch (unit V) said.

    The accused, identified as Sachin Kamble (30), Akash Kanojia (22) and Asu (20) were later arrested based on a complaint lodged by the victim at Chitalsar police station in Wagle Estate division of Thane city, he said.

    The victim and the accused reside in Wagle Estate area, he said.

    “Offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been registered against the three accused,” the official added.

    A senior official said that while Kanojia worked in the field of merchant navy, Kamble had a number of offences registered against him in Wagle Estate area.

    The third accused is a vagabond, he said.

    Further details are awaited.

  • 14-yr-old girl beaten brutally for resisting rape attempt 

    By PTI

    DUMKA: A 14-year-old girl was brutally beaten and thrown away in a lonely place in a semi-unconscious state after she resisted rape attempt allegedly by an auto-rickshaw driver in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, police said on Sunday.

    The girl fractured her right leg. Several injury marks were also found on her face. She is undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Dumka, the police said.

    Dumka Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Noor Mustafa Ansari told PTI, “The crime was done by an unindentified person. A case has been registered in this regard and search operation is going on to nab the unknown accused.”

    Meanwhile, a bench of magistrates of district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) took suo-motto cognizance of the case and registered the statements of the girl and her grandmother in the hospital.

    CWC chairperson Amarendra Kumar, female member Nutan Bala and member Dr Rajkumar Upadhayay visited the hospital on Sunday and registered the girl’s statement.

    According to a Dumka administration official release, the girl reached Basukinath Bus Stand at 3.40 pm on Saturday to go to her uncle’s house in Ramgarh area of the district. An auto driver offered to take her to the destination. She sat in the vehicle, in which another girl was already seated. After a ride of half an hour, the driver took them to a lonely place and started flirting with them. The other girl managed to escape. But, she could not flee and the driver attempted to rape her, the release said.

    “As I defied his attempt, the man brutally beat me with stick until I fell semi-unconscious. He threw me at a roadside in Mufassil police station area. I lay there whole night. I gathered some courage on Sunday morning and dragged my feet till the road and appealed to the people for help,” the release said quoting the girl.

    Thereafter, the local people informed Mahila police station and she was taken to a hospital, the release said.

    DUMKA: A 14-year-old girl was brutally beaten and thrown away in a lonely place in a semi-unconscious state after she resisted rape attempt allegedly by an auto-rickshaw driver in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, police said on Sunday.

    The girl fractured her right leg. Several injury marks were also found on her face. She is undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Dumka, the police said.

    Dumka Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Noor Mustafa Ansari told PTI, “The crime was done by an unindentified person. A case has been registered in this regard and search operation is going on to nab the unknown accused.”

    Meanwhile, a bench of magistrates of district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) took suo-motto cognizance of the case and registered the statements of the girl and her grandmother in the hospital.

    CWC chairperson Amarendra Kumar, female member Nutan Bala and member Dr Rajkumar Upadhayay visited the hospital on Sunday and registered the girl’s statement.

    According to a Dumka administration official release, the girl reached Basukinath Bus Stand at 3.40 pm on Saturday to go to her uncle’s house in Ramgarh area of the district. An auto driver offered to take her to the destination. She sat in the vehicle, in which another girl was already seated. After a ride of half an hour, the driver took them to a lonely place and started flirting with them. The other girl managed to escape. But, she could not flee and the driver attempted to rape her, the release said.

    “As I defied his attempt, the man brutally beat me with stick until I fell semi-unconscious. He threw me at a roadside in Mufassil police station area. I lay there whole night. I gathered some courage on Sunday morning and dragged my feet till the road and appealed to the people for help,” the release said quoting the girl.

    Thereafter, the local people informed Mahila police station and she was taken to a hospital, the release said.

  • Punjab horror: Athlete ‘pushed off’ from stadium terrace after she resists rape attempt

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: An 18-year-old basketball player suffered multiple fractures after three youths, who allegedly tried to rape her, pushed her off the roof of a stadium in Punjab’s Moga district, police said on Thursday.

    The player was admitted to a private hospital in Ludhiana where she was undergoing treatment for her injuries in both her legs and her jaw, they said.

    The incident took place on August 12, and all three accused have been on the run since, police said.

    According to the complaint filed by the victim’s father, his daughter had gone to the stadium in Moga for practice.

    One of the accused, identified as Jatin Kanda, allegedly tried to rape her at the stadium.

    When she resisted and tried to escape, he allegedly pushed her off from a height of around 25 feet, which seriously injured her in multiple places.

    A case under several sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and 376 (rape), of the IPC has been registered against Jatin and his two accomplices.

    Moga Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Khurana on Thursday said raids are being made to arrest the accused.

    CHANDIGARH: An 18-year-old basketball player suffered multiple fractures after three youths, who allegedly tried to rape her, pushed her off the roof of a stadium in Punjab’s Moga district, police said on Thursday.

    The player was admitted to a private hospital in Ludhiana where she was undergoing treatment for her injuries in both her legs and her jaw, they said.

    The incident took place on August 12, and all three accused have been on the run since, police said.

    According to the complaint filed by the victim’s father, his daughter had gone to the stadium in Moga for practice.

    One of the accused, identified as Jatin Kanda, allegedly tried to rape her at the stadium.

    When she resisted and tried to escape, he allegedly pushed her off from a height of around 25 feet, which seriously injured her in multiple places.

    A case under several sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and 376 (rape), of the IPC has been registered against Jatin and his two accomplices.

    Moga Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Khurana on Thursday said raids are being made to arrest the accused.

  • Godman Mirchi Baba who campaigned for Congress in 2018 and 2019 polls arrested for raping woman

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Controversial godman Swami Vairagyanand Giri alias Mirchi Baba, who campaigned for the opposition Congress in the 2018 assembly polls and 2019 general elections in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested from Gwalior, for allegedly raping a young woman on the pretext of helping her conceive a child.

    The godman who claims to be a Mahamandaleshwar of the Panchayati Niranjani Akhara was arrested from outside a hotel in Gwalior on Monday-Tuesday intervening night, just a few hours after an FIR was registered against him u/s 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) at Bhopal’s Mahila Thana on the 28-year-old alleged rape survivor’s complaint.

    “Acting on inputs provided by the Bhopal Police, he (Mirchi Baba) was arrested from outside a hotel in Gwalior and handed over to a team of Bhopal police,” Gwalior district police superintendent Amit Sanghi said on Tuesday.

    He was subsequently brought to Bhopal by police and produced before a court on Tuesday. The court sent him into judicial custody till August 22, the Bhopal police commissioner Makarand Deouskar confirmed to The New Indian Express.

    As per Bhopal police sources, the alleged rape survivor, a 28-years-old woman, hailing from Raisen district, had stated in the complaint about not having conceived child even four years after marriage.

    She came to know from someone about the godman treating issueless women through tantra-mantra (rituals). Getting the godman’s details through a poster, the woman met him at his house in Bhopal’s Minal Residency Colony in Bhopal on July 17.

    She further alleged that after taking her details, the Baba offered Bhabhoot (sacred ash) and Sabudana (sago), on consuming which she became unconscious. As she fell unconscious, the godman allegedly raped her and threatened her with dire consequences when she resisted the extreme act.

    She was subsequently abandoned by husband, after he came to know about the incident, while she was narrating it to a close relative over phone. Since then she has been living at brother’s home.

    Importantly, Mirchi Baba has been in news since the 2018 assembly polls and 2019 LS polls, when he campaigned for the Congress in the state. He had performed a major ritual with one quintal red chillies for victory of ex-CM Digvijaya Singh over BJP candidate Pragya Thakur in the 2019 LS polls in Bhopal and had announced to take Jal Samadhi if Singh lost the electoral contest. Singh ultimately lost the LS polls against Thakur by huge margin, after which he had sought permission from Bhopal district administration to take Jal Samadhi.

    Recently, he had created a scene at a local body polls rally of MP Congress president Kamal Nath in Gwalior, when he was not given a place to sit on the stage.

    BHOPAL: Controversial godman Swami Vairagyanand Giri alias Mirchi Baba, who campaigned for the opposition Congress in the 2018 assembly polls and 2019 general elections in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested from Gwalior, for allegedly raping a young woman on the pretext of helping her conceive a child.

    The godman who claims to be a Mahamandaleshwar of the Panchayati Niranjani Akhara was arrested from outside a hotel in Gwalior on Monday-Tuesday intervening night, just a few hours after an FIR was registered against him u/s 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) at Bhopal’s Mahila Thana on the 28-year-old alleged rape survivor’s complaint.

    “Acting on inputs provided by the Bhopal Police, he (Mirchi Baba) was arrested from outside a hotel in Gwalior and handed over to a team of Bhopal police,” Gwalior district police superintendent Amit Sanghi said on Tuesday.

    He was subsequently brought to Bhopal by police and produced before a court on Tuesday. The court sent him into judicial custody till August 22, the Bhopal police commissioner Makarand Deouskar confirmed to The New Indian Express.

    As per Bhopal police sources, the alleged rape survivor, a 28-years-old woman, hailing from Raisen district, had stated in the complaint about not having conceived child even four years after marriage.

    She came to know from someone about the godman treating issueless women through tantra-mantra (rituals). Getting the godman’s details through a poster, the woman met him at his house in Bhopal’s Minal Residency Colony in Bhopal on July 17.

    She further alleged that after taking her details, the Baba offered Bhabhoot (sacred ash) and Sabudana (sago), on consuming which she became unconscious. As she fell unconscious, the godman allegedly raped her and threatened her with dire consequences when she resisted the extreme act.

    She was subsequently abandoned by husband, after he came to know about the incident, while she was narrating it to a close relative over phone. Since then she has been living at brother’s home.

    Importantly, Mirchi Baba has been in news since the 2018 assembly polls and 2019 LS polls, when he campaigned for the Congress in the state. He had performed a major ritual with one quintal red chillies for victory of ex-CM Digvijaya Singh over BJP candidate Pragya Thakur in the 2019 LS polls in Bhopal and had announced to take Jal Samadhi if Singh lost the electoral contest. Singh ultimately lost the LS polls against Thakur by huge margin, after which he had sought permission from Bhopal district administration to take Jal Samadhi.

    Recently, he had created a scene at a local body polls rally of MP Congress president Kamal Nath in Gwalior, when he was not given a place to sit on the stage.

  • 29-year-old man arrested for raping Taiwan national in Gurugram

    By PTI

    GURUGRAM: A 29-year-old man has been arrested for repeatedly raping a 53-year-old Taiwan national on the pretext of marriage, police said on Monday.

    The woman has been living in Gurugram since 2017 and works for an NGO.

    Accused Ravindra Vishwakarma works at a private clinic.

    The two met each other some six months ago, the police said.

    The woman, in her complaint, said she was staying at a paying guest facility in Sector 52 and Vishwakarma was staying close by.

    “We met for the first time in February and he began talking to me. He used to wish me good morning every day. One day, he offered me coffee and we got to know each other better. He then proposed me for marriage and as I was in love with him, I accepted his proposal,” the woman said in her complaint.

    She alleged that he began taking sexual advantage of her without her consent on a false promise of marriage, but eventually refused to live by his promise and blocked her number.

    Vishwakarma has been booked under Sections 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 53 police station, assistant sub-inspector Chandrakanth said.

    “The accused has been arrested and he has admitted to the allegations against him. He will be produced in a city court,” the official said.

    GURUGRAM: A 29-year-old man has been arrested for repeatedly raping a 53-year-old Taiwan national on the pretext of marriage, police said on Monday.

    The woman has been living in Gurugram since 2017 and works for an NGO.

    Accused Ravindra Vishwakarma works at a private clinic.

    The two met each other some six months ago, the police said.

    The woman, in her complaint, said she was staying at a paying guest facility in Sector 52 and Vishwakarma was staying close by.

    “We met for the first time in February and he began talking to me. He used to wish me good morning every day. One day, he offered me coffee and we got to know each other better. He then proposed me for marriage and as I was in love with him, I accepted his proposal,” the woman said in her complaint.

    She alleged that he began taking sexual advantage of her without her consent on a false promise of marriage, but eventually refused to live by his promise and blocked her number.

    Vishwakarma has been booked under Sections 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 53 police station, assistant sub-inspector Chandrakanth said.

    “The accused has been arrested and he has admitted to the allegations against him. He will be produced in a city court,” the official said.

  • No relief for Arunachal BJP MLA accused of raping pregnant woman as court rejects anticipatory bail plea

    By PTI

    ITANAGAR: A court in Arunachal Pradesh has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of BJP MLA Lokam Tassar, accused of raping a pregnant woman.

    The sessions court at Yupia near Itanagar on Monday rejected the bail plea of the Koloriang MLA who is evading arrest.

    Police have registered a case against Tassar for allegedly raping the woman on July 4 at his residence here.

    Hearing the bail application, judge Gote Mega said, “Presence of petitioner and victim at the place of occurrence is prima facie found at this stage.

    Whether or not, the alleged crime was committed on the relevant day is subject to rule of evidence which can’t be decided at this stage.”

    “Nevertheless, having regard to the position and status of the petitioner, it is felt necessary that he should join ongoing criminal investigation by making himself available before the IO (investigating officer) of the case at the earliest occasion,” the court said.

    The counsel of the woman said that the police can now arrest the MLA by giving intimation to the speaker of the assembly as no prosecution sanction is required.

    Appearing on behalf of the MLA, advocate Khoda Tama submitted before the court that Tassar neither had committed rape nor had a consensual intercourse with the victim at any point of time.

    He also pleaded with the court to grant Tassar bail as he was willing to cooperate in the investigation, as and when called for.

    However, the judge concluded that the submission made by the counsel of the woman and the public prosecutor “holds reasons to be believed that granting of pre-arrest bail will not be proper”.

    Meanwhile, police said they have intensified efforts to arrest the MLA.

    Two of his homes at Naharlagun and Itanagar were raided but he could not be found, Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Kamdam Sikom said.

    “We will arrest him as soon as he is found,” Sikom said.

    Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the BJP would take strict action against the MLA if the court finds the allegations against him true.

    “The law will take its own course and no one is above the law,” Khandu added.

    Tassar did not vote in the presidential election on Monday.

    ITANAGAR: A court in Arunachal Pradesh has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of BJP MLA Lokam Tassar, accused of raping a pregnant woman.

    The sessions court at Yupia near Itanagar on Monday rejected the bail plea of the Koloriang MLA who is evading arrest.

    Police have registered a case against Tassar for allegedly raping the woman on July 4 at his residence here.

    Hearing the bail application, judge Gote Mega said, “Presence of petitioner and victim at the place of occurrence is prima facie found at this stage.

    Whether or not, the alleged crime was committed on the relevant day is subject to rule of evidence which can’t be decided at this stage.”

    “Nevertheless, having regard to the position and status of the petitioner, it is felt necessary that he should join ongoing criminal investigation by making himself available before the IO (investigating officer) of the case at the earliest occasion,” the court said.

    The counsel of the woman said that the police can now arrest the MLA by giving intimation to the speaker of the assembly as no prosecution sanction is required.

    Appearing on behalf of the MLA, advocate Khoda Tama submitted before the court that Tassar neither had committed rape nor had a consensual intercourse with the victim at any point of time.

    He also pleaded with the court to grant Tassar bail as he was willing to cooperate in the investigation, as and when called for.

    However, the judge concluded that the submission made by the counsel of the woman and the public prosecutor “holds reasons to be believed that granting of pre-arrest bail will not be proper”.

    Meanwhile, police said they have intensified efforts to arrest the MLA.

    Two of his homes at Naharlagun and Itanagar were raided but he could not be found, Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Kamdam Sikom said.

    “We will arrest him as soon as he is found,” Sikom said.

    Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the BJP would take strict action against the MLA if the court finds the allegations against him true.

    “The law will take its own course and no one is above the law,” Khandu added.

    Tassar did not vote in the presidential election on Monday.

  • Mumbai: Businessman booked for raping niece, threatening to kill her using his ‘links’ to gangsters

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Mumbai Police have registered a case against a septuagenarian businessman for allegedly raping his 35-year-old niece multiple times since 2007 and threatening to get her killed using his “connections” with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and other criminals, an official said on Thursday.

    In her complaint lodged at Amboli police station, the woman alleged that the 75-year-old accused, who is her uncle, first raped her in a hotel in 2007, he said.

    “The complainant said the accused sexually assaulted her multiple times at different locations in suburban Mumbai after that and threatened her not to reveal about it to anyone.

    He used to threaten that he would get the victim killed saying that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was his friend, while Haji Mastan, another crime lord, was his relative,” the official said.

    “The complainant also claimed that the accused borrowed Rs two crore from her at one per cent interest rate, but has not returned the amount to her so far,” he added.

    Since the woman resides in Andheri area, she lodged the complaint with Amboli police station.

    A case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 (2) (n) (repeated rape), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), police said.

    The case has been handed over to the MIDC police station in Andheri for further probe.

  • Bilaspur police’ diligent hearing of vulnerable victims of rape, molestation yields effective results 

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: Bilaspur police in Chhattisgarh have started a novel practice with a focus on attentive hearing to the intimidated victims of rape, molestation or domestic violence, as they claimed vulnerable to repeated threats after the FIR was lodged. The women sufferers securing police empathy perceptibly got much-needed relief as they candidly narrated their worries and situations fraught with peril.   

    Within a month of executing the new move, as many as 181 accused in the reported crimes against women have been arrested in Bilaspur. Even the actions taken against police officers allegedly found colluding with the accused.

    It is often found that the women victims who filed the cases against offenders to seek justice are being frightened, humiliated, attacked or mentally harassed by the accused or their accomplice to remain silent and are pressurised to withdraw the case. Some victims tormented by shame become easy targets for hostile conduct by the perpetrators.

    Bilaspur Range Inspector General of Police Ratan Lal Dangi pioneered the innovative mechanism covering the six districts of his jurisdiction for a periodic review of the cases of rape, molestation or domestic violence with the police officers. And during the meeting, the women victims are given a patient hearing, their pressing issues discussed to alleviate the distress with an assurance on safeguard and speedy justice.

    Ahead of such meetings, the details of the registered cases on the crimes against women in the police stations in the Bilaspur range were gathered. The victims are either called at the range headquarters or asked to virtually attend the meeting, which is chaired by the IG in the presence of police officers posted in areas where the women victims visit to speak out their unpleasant experiences.

    While narrating their ordeal, many women were seen in tears pleading for the police intervention.  

    The IG simultaneously cross-examined the claims of the women with the investigating officer of the victim’s area besides the progress of the inquiry and the culprits.

    “Meeting the IG and other police officers raised our morale and trust on law enforcing agencies. We were given full liberty to express our concern”, said Bobby (name changed) who was sexually abused in a private office and later repeatedly intimidated by the accused to take back the police complaint.

    The victims are called one at a time to recount their depressing episodes in the meeting.

    “We decided to call the victims who feel unguarded and threatened for their well-being. There shouldn’t be any lack of action from the police that should make the women feel insecure,” said Dangi.

    The novel initiative, which began a month ago, has apparently alleviated persisting fear and panic among the victims who seem confident to get support from the police.