Police take 8 days to register FIR in sexual assault case

An inspector attached to the Madiwala police station took eight days to register a FIR in a case of sexual assault on a minor girl, it has come to light. The police top brass are yet to initiate action against the cop for the lapse.

The 14-year-old victim was sexually assaulted on February 25, 2015, in her house. The parents of the victim, who live in a rented house, approached the Madiwala police the next day with a complaint that their landlord had sexually assaulted their daughter.

The police inspector first made them to wait for 30 minutes and later allowed only the victim inside the station. He questioned the girl in the presence of a  woman police constable. After the inquiry, the inspector asked the victim and her parents go home since there was no case.

A few days later, the persistent mother approached local Aam Admi Party workers and explained the trauma they faced at the police station.

“The victim's mother said that police inspector made the girl to sit on the floor during the inquiry and the woman constable slapped on her face. We went to the police station on March 6 and after waiting for hours together the inspector finally registered the FIR at around 6 pm.

We realised the next day that the police had not even provided the copy of  the FIR to the victim's family. We again went to the police station and on March 8 got the copy of the FIR. The FIR was registered under Section 354 of IPC and Section 8 of Pocso Act,'' Adarsh Iyer AAP leader said.

DCP summoned
The next day, Adarsh took the victim to the Lokayukta office and filed a complaint against the Madiwala police. Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi had summoned senior police officials, including DCP (Southeast) Rohini Katoch Sepat and on Thursday held an inquiry into the matter.

The DCP along with another woman official recorded the statement of the victim and her mother at the Lokayukta office on Thursday. The victim has stated that she was slapped at the police station by a woman police constable on February 26.

As per the amended law of 2013, a police officer can be booked under Section 166 (A) of IPC for delay in registering the complaint of sexual assault. Minimum punishment under this clause is imprisonment for six months and a maximum of two years.

Pulakeshinagar police inspector was booked under the same clause for not registering the case of rape in July last year.