PTI
New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Friday lambasted Ghaziabad police’s “insensitive approach” in the investigation of the rape and murder case of a four-year-old girl and summoned senior officials, including the police commissioner, on April 13 with case records.
The top court observed that a court-monitored, time-bound probe either by a special investigation team (SIT) or a central agency was needed in
the case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi took note of the submissions of senior lawyer N Hariharan, appearing for the victim’s father, a daily wager, and expressed its displeasure over the manner in which the state police had conducted the investigation so far in the case.
“My conscience was revolted the moment I saw it (the video evidence),” Hariharan told the bench and urged judicial intervention in the case.
“The most shocking part of the alleged offence is that it exhibits complete indifference and insensitive approach of two alleged private hospitals as well as the local police,”
the CJI said.
“The FIR was registered one day after the incident. Hospitals refused admission. A blunt object was inserted into the private part of the child. The post-mortem report shows.”
“The police only wanted to investigate this as a murder. The police report says the child was dead when the case came to them. There is a video recording showing that the child was alive. The neighbours are given notices that you are breaching peace. Please see the video,” Hariharan told
the court.
The bench issued notices to the state government, station house officer of the concerned police station, the two private hospitals – Khajan Singh Mannvi Health Care and St Joseph (Mariam) Hospital – and the executive magistrate.
The bench said the trauma of the victim’s family was further compounded when the matter was reported to local police.
“Instead of taking cognisance, the petitioner and the family members were physically assaulted. They were asked to remain silent about the incident. The FIR was lodged on the next day, that is on March 17,” the order noted.
The bench noted that no offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act or the rape charge was added in the FIR, though the case apparently involved sexual assault.
“It further seems that having realised the seriousness of the offence, the accused was apprehended and arrested on March 18,” it said.
The bench also expressed suspicion over the police’s “encounter” narrative and asked how the accused was having a gun when he led the police party to the place of the incident.
