Phillaur ex-SHO booked for sexuallyharassing mother of minor rape victim
Jalandhar, Oct. 16 -- The Jalandhar rural police have booked sub-inspector Bhushan Kumar, former Phillaur station house officer (SHO), for alleged inappropriate behaviour and making sexual advances towards the mother of a minor rape victim.
The case has been registered under Section 74(1) (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 67(d) (guilty of sexual harassment in the course of duty) of Punjab Police Act, and other sections of the IT Act at Phillaur police station.
Punjab state women's commission has also taken cognisance of the matter. The panel has directed Jalandhar's senior superintendent of police to initiate criminal action against the erring police officials, besides conducting a probe into the incident. The SHO was transferred and suspended after his alleged audio clips and video recordings of the calls made to two separate victims went viral on social media platforms. In the audio clip, the officer was allegedly pressuring the victim's mother to meet him alone. HT couldn't independently verify the veracity of the audio clip.
Deputy superintendent of police Sarwan Singh Bal said the FIR has been registered on the directions of SSP Harvinder Singh Virk.
"SI Kumar has been suspended. We are going to record detailed statements of both the victims and the audio clips, and other evidence will be sent for further verification," DSP Bal said. The case dates back to October 5, when the family of the 14-year-old girl approached police and registered a rape case against an 18-year-old boy.
However, instead of registering an FIR, the SHO allegedly refused to take action against the accused. In their complaint, the victim's family alleged that their daughter was raped by an 18-year-old neighbour on the intervening night of August 23 and 24.According to reports, when the victim's kin reached the Phillaur civil hospital, the doctors told them treatment could only begin after alerting the police. The doctors asked the victim to go to the Phillaur police station. However, the SHO kept insisting that there was no sexual assault and thus, no medical examination could be conducted, the victim's family alleged. The FIR was registered only after the matter was taken up by local social activists with senior officials....
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