Punjab Police official under HC lens in rape case

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6

The functioning of a Punjab Police official has come under judicial scanner, with the parents of an accused alleging they were booked in a rape case even though the boy’s father was not even present in India on the date of alleged occurrence of the incident.

Taking up the petition, the HC has stayed the proceedings in the FIR. Appearing before Justice Jaishree Thakur’s Bench, counsel for the petitioners RS Bajaj added the allegations set out in the FIR would at best be applicable only to their son.

The petitioners were seeking the quashing of the FIR registered for outraging modesty, rape and other offences on November 7, 2019, under Sections 354, 509, 328, 376 and 506 of the IPC registered at the Fazilka City police station.

Bajaj said Inspector Navdeep Singh Bhatti had been siding with the respondent-victim and her family because “they had actually connived together to blackmail the petitioners and their son”.

Going into the background of the matter, Bajaj submitted the petitioner’s son developed friendly relationship with the girl after coming in touch with her. But after about two months, she lodged an FIR against petitioners and their son with the allegations that she had been raped by the boy.

In any case the petitioners had nothing to do with the alleged offence. As per the victim herself, the petitioners were neither present at the time of the alleged offence, nor had they facilitated its commission in any manner. Under the circumstances, no offence whatsoever was made out against the petitioners. They were roped in unnecessarily, he argued.

He added the victim and her family had connived together with one woman and Inspector Navdeep Singh Bhatti, SHO, with a view to blackmail the petitioners and their son. “When petitioners and their son refused to oblige them, the FIR was registered against them,” Bajaj added. He, subsequently, registered another FIR against the son of mother’s brother on the allegations of giving shelter to the boy.