HC takes cognisance of report of rape by mob in Haryana

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of a news report which stated that at least 10 women were raped by a mob during the Jat agitation and said the incident warrants probe by a premier investigating agency.

Justice Naresh Kumar Sanghi asserted that the court should not be a mere spectator and ordered for placing the matter before acting Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar for necessary orders to treat it as a PIL.  Justice Sanghi observed that the police, as per the report, dismissed the incident as a rumour.

According to the report, around 30 goons stopped vehicles ferrying passengers towards the national capital near Murthal in the early hours of Monday and set them on fire. Some women who could not flee were dragged to the nearby fields and raped.


Terrified, they lay still in the fields till they were found by their men, the report said, adding that residents of Hassanpur and Kurad rushed to bring clothes and blankets for the victims.
The report quoted eyewitnesses who said that at least 10 women were sexually assaulted. Worse, the victims and their families were advised by the district officials not to report the matter to anyone “for the sake of their honour”.

The government denied the report and said that Principal Secretary Devender Singh and IGP Paramjit Ahlawat visited the spot and interacted with the people, including those whose names were mentioned in the report.  They said no such incident took place, while adding that even former Sarpanch of Kurad, Bijender Singh, has refuted the report.