NEW DELHI: In the ongoing investigation into the rape case of a minor girl by now-suspended senior Delhi government official Premoday Khakha, it has now emerged that at least four women previously lodged sexual harassment complaints against him. The complainants were working at a mental health unit at Sewa Kutir complex at Kingsway Camp where Khakha was posted as superintendent.
An official report, accessed by this newspaper, said one of the victims stated that Khakha directed his subordinates to make false assessment reports of the juveniles. The document was written on violation of child rights.
“The Superintendent (Khakha) directed to hide sensitive information related to sexual and physical abuse (POCSO Act) by some juveniles and stopped us from reporting to the juvenile justice boards,” the document read.
It has been also revealed that Khakha used to threaten his staff, saying they should not open their mouth before the management committee. “He dictated a false report in a case of indiscipline involving a juvenile who was institutionalised in a heinous crime and was an adult then. In an inquiry, he threatened me (the victim) to validate the false report in his presence,” the report read.
On the basis of the four complaints accusing Khakha of being a sexual offender, the women and child department then formed an internal committee to probe the charges. The probe concluded that the charges could not be proved. Of the four women, two later approached the Delhi High Court where the cases are pending.
One of the victims, who still awaits justice for the mental and sexual harassment allegedly caused by Khakha, told this newspaper she had lodged two complaints, one was about sexual harassment and the other about child rights violation.
The woman said that she had also approached the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) but never got any response. “The DCW team assured me that it will fix the meeting between me and Swati Maliwal, but that didn’t happen. I was not called. They issued a date, I went, but no action was taken,” she alleged.
The DCW chief, who has been demanding strong action against Khakha, wrote a letter to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar demanding the immediate termination of the official from services.“The government should create a list of such officers against whom criminal cases involving women and children are pending. These cases should be enquired on an urgent basis,” Maliwal said.
Khakha was posted at Sewa Kutir complex
Four women have accused the now-suspended Delhi government official of sexual harassment at a mental health unit in Sewa Kutir complex, Kingsway Camp. Premoday Khakha was posted there as superintendent. As per an official report, Khakha directed his subordinates to make false assessment reports of juveniles.