LUCKNOW: Two police officers were suspended for laxity in connection with an alleged kidnapping and gangrape of a minor by a police sub-inspector, Amit Maurya and his accomplices in Kanpur earlier this week.
Police have recovered the vehicle in which the crime was committed. The incident led to widespread outrage in the state after a video of the victim accusing the police of inaction went viral on social media.
Consequently, action was taken against two police officers who were suspended, and one of the accused was arrested. However, the S-I, who was posted at Sachendi police station, remains at large.
According to the police, the incident occurred on Monday night. In her statement, the minor said that she stepped out of her house to address nature’s call. As she was heading towards the railway tracks, an SUV stopped beside her, and before she could guess anything, she was dragged inside the four-wheeler.
Two men were seated inside the vehicle, and a person in a police uniform was driving the vehicle. The girl alleged that the man in the rear seat started molesting her as the vehicle was driven to a secluded area near the railway tracks.
She alleged that even as she screamed, the two men started sexually assaulting her inside the vehicle. She was allegedly gangraped by the two, who held her inside the SUV for more than half an hour.
As per her complaint, the victim was later taken back to the same location from where she was kidnapped. She claimed that she was thrown out of the vehicle by the perpetrators, who drove away. She walked home and narrated the ordeal to her brother and family members, she stated in the complaint.
According to the minor, she, along with her brother and other members of her family, went to the local police outpost immediately and informed the cops, but instead of helping them, they allegedly directed them to go to the police station. They submitted their complaint at the police station, but were allegedly asked to return the next morning.
The minor and her brother alleged that on Tuesday, they realised that the First Information Report (FIR) did not mention the man in a police uniform; even the charges under the POCSO Act were also not there.
When they contacted the station house officer (SHO) and raised their concern, he allegedly misbehaved with them, using objectionable language aimed at the minor’s character. He shouted that the charges would be added if the allegations were found to be true in the investigation, her brother alleged. The siblings claimed to have tried meeting senior officials, but to no avail.
They decided to raise the matter by putting a video on social media. It went viral with higher police authorities taking cognisance. As per Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP), Kapil Dev Singh, co-accused Shiv Baran, a Youtuber, was arrested on Wednesday, and the Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added to the FIR, which, he said, was initially lodged under charges of kidnapping and gangrape against unidentified persons.
Action was also taken against the SHO Vikram Singh. He was suspended as he had misbehaved with the victim and did nothing to initiate a preliminary inquiry, giving enough time to the main accused and the SI to flee the district. Moreover, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) West, Dinesh Tripathi was shifted to DCP headquarters. As per Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP), Kapil Dev Singh, the co-accused Shiv Baran claimed to be a journalist and showed an ID of a TV channel.
The accused SI Amit Maurya was transferred to Bithhoor police station recently and had to join duty on Wednesday.