'Police Joined Hands With Rape Accused', Punjab & Haryana HC Directs Dy Commissioner To Personally Visit Minor Victim, Ensure Facilities

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed shock at the helplessness of a minor victim of sexual assault, raped by multiple accused for financial gains at different places.

Justice N.S Shekhawat directed the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police "to personally visit the victim of the crime in the present case and to file a detailed report with regard to her status."

The Deputy Commissioner is directed to ensure that all the proper facilities are provided to the victim in the present case and services of counsellor and a medical expert be provided to her. He shall also explore the possibility of extending the benefit of all government schemes to the minor victim and shall ensure all steps to be taken to bring the child out of the trauma of the allegations levelled in the present case, it added.

The Court highlighted that the police, which was supposed to grant protection to her and to take action against the perpetrators of the crime, joined hands with the accused and extorted money from various accused in the case.

It observed that the incidents of sexual abuse of a minor child not only rob the child of her childhood, but the child suffers irrevocable mental and physical trauma and it is impossible for a child to come out of such a trauma.

In the present case, it was submitted that after the death of victim's father, her mother started residing with some other man and the victim was left with her parental aunt, where she was allegedly meted with harassment.

After about 7-8 months, she was allured by a person namely Balinder, accused and was subjected to rape and sexual harrasment by several persons at different places. Even she was blackmailed and used for commercial gains and was forced to make physical relations with a man.

In order to extract money from a man, the victim was pressurized to get the case registered against him for rape and was threatened to make her obscene video viral on internet.

The Court noted that the the girl child has been thrown out of her home and the family is still not ready to own her, hence she has been confined in Nari Niketan by the administration.

Consequently to ensure the welfare of the victim in the present case, the Court asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kaithal to be impleaded as respondent in the present case.

The matter is listed for May 16, for further consideration.

M.r Keshav Partap Singh, Advocate for the appellant.

Mr. Rajiv Sidhu, DAG, Haryana.

Title: JAGBHAN KUMAR VS STATE OF HARYANA AND ANR