Five men allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman in front of her husband in Rajasthan’s Alwar district last month, The Times of India reported on Wednesday. The woman’s family has accused the police of not taking timely action.
The couple told the police that the accused accosted them while they were travelling on a motorcycle on April 26, and took them to an isolated spot where they committed the crime and recorded it. They filed a complaint four days later, but alleged that the police registered a first information report only on May 2, The Indian Express reported. The police allegedly told the couple that they did not have enough personnel to look into the matter because of the ongoing parliamentary elections.
The couple said in their complaint that the accused took money from them and blackmailed them for more before uploading a video of the crime online. “They filmed the act and threatened to kill my husband and also to make the video viral before leaving us there,” the woman said in the FIR.
The complainant’s husband said the police conducted a preliminary inquiry and a medical examination soon after their visit to the police station. “We were constantly getting threatening calls from the accused who had also taken money from my brother and was blackmailing him for more,” the woman’s brother-in-law told The Indian Express. “We implored the police to take action as we feared they would circulate the video.”
The woman’s brother-in-law said the police, including officials of the Thana Ghazi police station, told them to wait till the elections are over.
Rajasthan’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup said the district superintendent of police has been removed from his post based on the couple’s complaint and the Thana Ghazi police station house officer has also been suspended for delaying initial action.
The police said all five accused have been identified and booked, and three people have been arrested. Jaipur Inspector General Police S Segathir identified the people arrested as Indraj Gurjar, Ashok and Mukesh, according to PTI. Mukesh also recorded the crime and uploaded a video on social media, the police said. The other two accused were identified as Chotelal and Hansraj.
“We have constituted 14 teams that are searching for the absconding accused and we hope to be nab them soon,” State Director General of Police Kapil Garg told The Indian Express.
Bharatiya Janata Party state President Madan Lal Saini condemned the incident and demanded Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s resignation. He alleged that the Congress-led state government had concealed the case to protect its image during the elections.
NHRC notice to government
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the Rajasthan government and Director General of Police Kapil Garg over alleged police inaction in the case. “The commission has observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amount to the gross violation of the human rights of the victim woman and her husband,” the notice read.
The commission said state Chief Secretary Devendra Bhushan Gupta and Garg should submit a report within six weeks, which would include details on action taken against the guilty. The NHRC said it would also like to know if the provisions of the SC/ST Act have been applied in the case.
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