Women’s panel slams Noida police for naming rape victim
Noida : The Uttar Pradesh Women’s Commission has criticised the Noida police for revealing the identity of a teenaged gangrape victim, and a senior police official said Monday that a probe has been launched into the “lapse” and action would be taken against the concerned cops.
The women’s commission also has issued notice to the Noida police seeking a status report on the rape case, said Inspector General (IG) of Police Rajiv Krishna. He added that the panel had sought the status report from the senior superintendent of police of Noida with a copy to him.
Regarding revelation of the identity of the rape victim, the IG said the SSP of Noida has been asked to order an inquiry into how the police press note mentioned the victim’s name. Superintendent Police (City) Anant Dev said an inquiry is under way. “After the outcome of the inquiry, action will be initiated,” he said.
Five people have been arrested for allegedly raping a Class 10 girl in Noida. They were identified as – Himanshu Sharma (23), Rahul Kumar (24), Suni Singh (22), Neeraj (20) and Saurabh Chauhan. Four were arrested on Sunday from near the Spice Mall while Saurabh was arrested Monday.
A Hyundai i10 car in which the rape took place has been recovered. According to Anant Dev, the accused men raped the girl Friday night.
The first information report (FIR) lodged by the victim stated that she had gone to her father’s shop in Sector-12 Friday evening. While returning home, she met Rahul, Himanshu and Sunil – with whom she was familiar – near Priyadarshini Park.
On the pretext of taking her to a party, the three took her on a bike, and brought her to a room in Ghijore locality in Sector-53. Two other men – Saurabh and Neeraj – were already present in the room.
The five allegedly forced the girl to drink alcohol after which they kept her captive. Saurabh, Neeraj and Sunil then took her in an i10 car that belonged to Saurabh. After taking her to a spot behind Krishna Hotel in Ghijore, they were joined by Himanshu and Rahul. The five then took turns to rape her, after parking the car under a tree.
The men then drove the car and pushed her outside the car near Priyadarshini Park, from where they had picked her, around 9 p.m. The accused also threatened to kill her and her family members if she disclosed the matter to them.
Though the girl stated in the FIR that she was forcibly made to drink alcohol and then raped, the police claimed she was well acquainted with the five accused and even had physical relations with some of them.
“The girl met the persons and went with her consent. There she herself asked them for Vodka and then asked them to have physical relations with her,” the SP (City) told the media.
When asked why there was a contradiction in the official police theory as stated in the press statement and that disclosed by him separately, the SP (City) said, “The press statement is based on the complaint filed by the girl, while the latter revelation has come to light in the course of investigations.”
The girl, however, told media that she was forced to drink by the men and then raped. She was threatened the rape would be captured in an MMS and that would be made public.
Of the accused, Rahul works as a gatekeeper at a mall in Noida while Sunil, a sector-22 resident, was pursuing Mass Communication course in Dehradun. Saurabh, a resident of Sector-24, owned an automobile shop in Ghijore, while Himanshu, a Sector-24 resident, was pursuing management course in a Greater Noida institute. Neeraj, a resident of Sector-82, is pursuing B. Com from Delhi University.
