Dharamsala ‘rape’ case falls flat; police say no such incident occurred

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 21

The  four-day long drama over an alleged rape of a student of government degree college, Dharamsala, which saw all kinds of rumours doing the rounds on social media, turned out to be an anti-climax on Thursday with the police describing the complaint as “fake” and asserting that no such “heinous crime” occurred.

The alleged incident, which rocked the state with social media sites spreading all kinds of canards and even claiming that the victim had died in a hospital, proved to be a “fictionalised account” as the alleged victim — who had been identified — totally denied the reports and said that she “had not been even touched”, DGP Sanjay Kumar said.

The police also identified the alleged victim who along with her parents came to the police station and categorically denied the allegations made by the complainant.

While the complainant had told the principal, a woman teacher and some students that her sister had been molested, the alleged victim denied any relationship with the complainant and told the police that she had not seen her for the past four years.

Rumours started doing the rounds on social media after the complainant reported the “fake” incident to the principal, a teacher and some students. The issue also acquired political colour with BJP, ABVP, SFI, AAP and VHP trying to pin down the government.

The complainant, who was a neighbour of the alleged victim, claimed that the victim had asked her to tell the molestation story to the principal, but her version was not corroborated either by the victim or her parents.

Since the complainant and the alleged victim have given different versions, their statements would be recorded before the magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC tomorrow.

The police have recorded the statements of the complainant, alleged victim and their parents and investigations are on to bring out the motive behind the entire episode and also to investigate the case with the angle of “mischief”.

The DGP said that the complainant was identified through a sketch, which was prepared with the help of seven students whom the complainant had met.

He added that the complainant, whose actions created turmoil in the state, had left home on several occasions earlier and had been brought back by police of a neighbouring state. Her parents have also testified her unpredictable behaviour, the DGP said.