Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday reinforced his image of putting his foot-in-the-mouth far too often by blurting out yet another blunder.
Making a suo motu statement in Parliament on the horrific rape of a five-year-old girl child on April 15, the minister sought to underline the fact that rapes were happening not only here but all over the country.
“Such incidents have been reported from other parts of the country also,” he said.However, the Home Minister’s statement did not mention the action taken against the senior law enforcement officials, but it merely reiterated the promise of conducting a probe into the entire matter.
Both the accused have been arrested in the case and further investigation were being conducted by the Delhi Police. The minister said the medical examination of the accused had also been carried out.
According to the Home Minister, the Centre was taking action against those responsible for the lapses. He said ACP B S Ahlawat, who was caught on camera slapping one of the women protesters, had been placed under suspension with immediate effect.
He added that a departmental inquiry shall be conducted by an officer to be appointed by the Delhi government. “Taking further note of the lapses in the investigation, the SHO and the IO have been placed under suspension. The Joint CP (Vigilance) has been asked to conduct an inquiry. The Joint Commissioner (Vigilance) shall also inquire into the allegation that the local police paid some money to the father of the victim to hush up the case,” he said. Further, the home minister told the House that the girl was reported missing on April 15 and an FIR was filed at the GandhiNagar Police Station at 10pm the same day.
Shinde said the Delhi Police had started searches in the city’s Eastern regions. The minister added that the mother of the girl child heard her daughter’s muffled cries from the ground floor of the same house where she and her family live.
Later the police were informed of the incident and they broke open the door to find the child in a battered condition.