Minor Dalit girl abducted, raped over 2 days
SARAF INAUGURATES DETOX CENTRE
APATHY Accused arrested; activists say police sat over family’s complaint for 3 days, all people named by victim not added to FIR The victim and her family went to Pragpura police station on October 5 to lodge the case, but the FIR was not filed until October 8. The police delayed the girl’s medical examination...
KAILASH MINA, Activist JAIPUR:
A 17-year-old Dalit girl from a village in Jaipur district was allegedly kidnapped and repeatedly raped by an upper caste man over two days, police said.
Police registered a case of kidnap and rape on October 8 and arrested the accused on October 9.
The girl’s family said they were threatened against going to police to register a complaint. The girl returned home on October 3, but for two days the family didn’t gather courage to lodge a case against the rape accused and his accomplices who helped him kidnap the girl.
Activists who helped the family register the case said police sat over the family’s complaint for three days.
“The victim and her family went to Pragpura police station on October 5 to lodge the case, but the FIR was not filed until October 8. The police delayed the girl’s medical examination further by a day, showing their reluctance to act in the case,” said activist Kailash Mina.
“A few upper caste men from a nearby village were harassing me for past 4-5 months,” the girl told HT. On October 1, they forced the girl to come to Kotputli, a town on Jaipur-Delhi highway, and kidnapped her.
“After dragging me into a car, they gave me a drink laced with sedatives. When I gained consciousness, I was in Jaipur. Vinod Tanwar raped me repeatedly over two days before I managed to run out and reach Sindhi Camp bus stand. I called my family from there,” the girl said.
The victim alleged that the police didn’t name all the people whom she had made accused in the initial complaint.
“Apart from Tanwar, I had named Gurjar and three other people. But while registering the FIR, the cops have made only Tanwar accused and haven’t even named Gurjar who was actively involved in the kidnapping,” she said.
The case against Tanwar has been registered at the Pragpura police station under IPC sections (rape, kidnapping, punishment for criminal intimidation), and relevant sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and SC/ST Act.
The victim said upper caste people in the village pressured her family to withdraw the case.
“The family members of the victim were not allowed by upper caste men to go to the police station for two days after her return; they tried to convince the victim and her family to withdraw the case. Even now they are facing threats,” said local activist Radheshyam Suklawas.
Mina demanded that the other accused named by the victim be added to the FIR. “The purposeful delay on part of the police shows that there are efforts to shield the accused.”
The police said Tanwar has been arrested. “We have arrested Tanwar on Monday and any decision on including other people in the list of accused will be taken after further investigation,” said Mahmood Khan, circle officer, Kotputli.
: Health minister Kali Charan Saraf inaugurated a 10-bed detoxification ward at the psychiatric centre of Sawai Man Singh Medical College on the occasion of World Mental Health Day on Tuesday. The minister also launched a helpline, Man Sanwad Seva. People can call on the toll-free number 18001800018 with queries related to mental health and get solutions. The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’. “A hectic life, work pressure, shortage of time, inability to maintain a balance between family and work and other reasons affects the mental health resulting in tension,” Saraf said. He said according to the national health survey, 13.70% of people in Rajasthan suffer from some kind of mental illness. To provide facilities related to mental health, medical officers at primary and community health centres are being trained in screening and treating mental illness under the National Mental Health Programme. At present, more than 500 doctors have been trained, informed the minister.
JAIPUR