LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh police has removed senior IPS officer and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Varuna Zone Chandra Kant Meena from the case of gang-rape of a 19-year-old girl by 23 people in Varanasi.
The action was followed after the intervention of Prime Minister Modi during his 50th visit to his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, on April 11.
Immediately after landing at the Varanasi airport, the PM questioned the senior district administration and police authorities of Varanasi about the gang rape incident and the action taken against the culprits.
He was briefed by the Varanasi Police Commissioner and other senior officials including the DM and Divisional Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma.
Expressing strong dismay over the handling of the case, the PM had instructed the authorities concerned to initiate the strictest action against the perpetrators.
He also asked officials to ensure that such incidents were not repeated in the future.
Subsequently, Inspector General (Personnel), Uttar Pradesh Police Headquarters, issued the letter ordering the removal of 2018-batch IPS officer Chandra Kant Meena from the post of DCP, Varuna zone in Varanasi and posting him to the office of Director General of Police (DGP) in Lucknow.
Chandra Kant Meena’s removal in the immediate aftermath of the PM’s directive has made him the first official to face the consequences of alleged investigation lapses.
As per the highly placed sources, action is imminent against a couple more officers for failing to handle the case promptly.
The case pertains to the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old girl who went missing on March 29 and was found by police on April 4. Following a complaint lodged by the girl's mother on April 6, a gangrape case was registered against 23 accused — 11 identified and 12 unidentified people.
So far 13 accused had been arrested in the case - six men on April 7, three on the intervening night on April 7-8, three more on April 11 and one on Sunday, said police.
The girl had gone missing after a friend took her to a hookah bar in the Pishachmochan area of Varanasi on March 29.
Meanwhile, the victim has tested Hepatitis B positive, revealed a medical test conducted at the district hospital in Varanasi, where she was admitted on Friday after a complaint of stomach-ache, weakness and loss of appetite.
According to doctors, there is a possibility that the infection occurred due to the injection of intoxicants by the accused during the crime. The victim also underwent an HIV test, and the first report was negative. She was shifted to Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, BHU, on Sunday where her condition was improving, said a senior doctor.
Chief medical officer Dr AK Maurya confirmed that the Hepatitis B report of the victim was positive.
Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered under sections 70(1) (gang rape), 123 (administering poisonous substance) 127 (2) (wrongful confinement), 126 (2) (obstructing movement), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 74 (outraging modesty) of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) against 23 men.
The police constituted three teams to arrest the accused. Cops raided 50 locations and scanned around 100 CCTV footage in search of the accused.
