SIT to probe 2017 Mewat gangrape case, HC told

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10

Less than two years after a case of gangrape of a minor was registered by the Mewat women’s police station, inquiry proceedings have been initiated against two police officials and a special investigation team constituted to expedite the probe.

As the case came up for resumed hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a status report was placed before Justice Jaishree Thakur’s Bench. Taking the document on record, Justice Thakur observed that the report made it clear that inquiry proceedings had been initiated against Sub-inspectors Vineeta Devi and Muniya Devi and a SIT had been constituted.

Justice Thakur also fixed the case for further hearing in the last week of March next year after counsel for the petitioner sought time to go through the report. The victim’s father, through counsel Mazlish Khan, was seeking directions to Haryana and other respondents for handing over the case to the crime branch or some other “honest officer” from another district to conduct a fair, transparent and scientific investigation.

The case was registered in May 2017 for gangrape and criminal intimidation under Section 376-D and 506 of the India Penal Code, along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The FIR was registered after the victim’s father reported that his daughter was gangraped when she had gone to fetch fodder from the fields in January last year.

Directions were sought for placing under suspension the services of “guilty police officials”, especially a Sub-inspector and the Ferozepur Jhirka DSP, for allegedly misusing their official powers. The petitioner had said wrong information was furnished in court about the preparation and submission of a cancellation report in the matter.

Referring to an order by the Mewat Additional Sessions Judge, the petitioner claimed that the judicial officer, on March 31, observed that the cancellation report had not been received in court.