Death of gangrape victim: FIR against cop for ''inaction''

Mumbai, September 1

An FIR has been registered against a police inspector in Mumbai for "inaction" in the case of alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman who later died at a hospital, police said on Sunday.

The woman, who, according to her lawyer, is Dalit, was allegedly raped by four of her friends in Mumbai in the first week of July. She was later admitted to a state-run hospital in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city where she died on August 28.

Based on the complaint by lawyer Nitin Satpute, representing the woman's family, an FIR was lodged against Chunabhatti police station's inspector Deepak Surve on Saturday, according to police.

In the complaint, Satpute alleged "inaction" by the police in handling the case.

He claimed the police also failed to register offences against the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the victim belonged to a Scheduled Caste.

"Prima facie, there is a serious flaw on part of the police, who, inspite of the efforts made by the victim's family to seek action against the gangrape culprits, didn't bother to act against the accused," Satpute alleged.

"The First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against police inspector Deepak Surve under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for humiliating the victim," he added.

The alleged rape came to light only when the woman complained of pain in her private parts on July 24 and was admitted to a private hospital in Aurangabad, located around 325 km from here.

The doctors suspected that she had been raped and informed the police and she was shifted to the government-run hospital.

According to the complaint filed at Begumpura police station in Aurangabad, on July 7 the woman came to Mumbai.

Four of her friends decided to celebrate her birthday.

After cutting the cake, the four allegedly raped her, police said.

The woman later returned to Aurangabad but did not tell her parents about the incident, the official said.

The case was subsequently transferred to Chunabhatti police station here.

Senior NCP leader Supriya Sule on Friday led the party's protest march here, demanding an SIT probe into the woman's death.

She accused the BJP-led state government of being "insensitive" towards women safety.

The Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, who was accompanied by NCP Mumbai chief Nawab Malik and MLC Vidya Chavan, pitched for forming a special investigation team (SIT), contending the on- going probe into the matter not being carried out "properly".

The NCP also called for immediate arrests of the accused.

Later, state Legislative Council's Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe said she has instructed the Mumbai Police to trace the accused and ensure the charge sheet in the matter is filed properly. PTI