THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The allegations of sabotage of Pocso cases involving minor victims by men in uniform have not become rarest of the rare case. The Home Department has now suspended a DySP from Palakkad for shielding those accused of raping a nine-year-old girl by conducting a shoddy probe with an eye on pecuniary benefits.
The action was taken against R Manoj Kumar, who is now working as DySP in Palakkad District Crime Records Bureau, for purposely trying to protect the accused by not gathering vital evidence. The haphazard way in which the probe was carried out was to pursue his felonious intention to accumulate bribe from the accused in return for saving them from the clutches of law, read the Home Department’s order.
Manoj as Mannarkad Inspector had investigated the case that occurred under the jurisdiction of Kalladikode police station in 2015. Two Malappuram natives were arraigned as accused in the case. However, the officer deliberately overlooked crucial evidence and bestowed all his efforts to save the culprits.
The order said the officer did not register separate cases though the victim had specifically stated that she was abused on multiple occasions. He also did not gather information on how the accused reached the girl’s house and no steps were taken to seize the vehicle in which they had travelled.
Even worse, the dress worn by the victim nor the accused were seized and no efforts were made to collect digital evidence, including CDR tower location. As per the order, the botch-up did not stop here. No age certificate was produced to prove the age of the victim, while she was produced before the accused during the investigation, which contravenes the existing law.
Though the mother and grandmother of the victim were charged under Section 16 of Pocso Act, the officer did not invoke Section 17, which makes the offences punishable, against them. The irregularities in the investigation came to fore when the case was taken up for trial. On detecting the flaws, the case has been taken up for re-investigation, said a senior officer in Palakkad District Police.