3 cops dismissed for raping minor

Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 12

The Punjab police today dismissed three cops, including an international powerlifter, for allegedly raping a minor girl in Rakh Bagh late last night, holding her helpless boyfriend hostage.

Bringing shame to men in khaki, one of the accused was donning the police uniform.

SSP R.K. Jaiswal said the cops had no right to wear the uniform after they had dishonoured it with their highly condemnable act. The four were supposed to keep an eye on illegal activities and not to commit such ghastly acts.

The incident could have been avoided had the police taken action on a Tribune report last month which narrated how stalkers in police uniform were molesting girls and extorting money from their boyfriends in different parks of the city.

Jaiswal said he had dismissed ASI Inderjeet Singh, Gurmel Singh, cook, and Hari Ram, class IV employee, for the heinous rape "that had put the entire police department to shame" without even putting them under suspension and holding an inquiry against the allegations.

The trio was arrested in the morning today within 12 hours of the registration of a case against them under Section 376, IPC, last night. The case was registered on the statement of the girl, who is a student of class X.

The SSP said medical examination of the girl had established that she was raped. The clothes of the victim and accused had been recovered for chemical and forensic examination.

Narrating the sequence of events, as stated by the girl, he said ASI Inderjeet was on PCR duty and had parked his motorbike on the road near the Sutlej Club. Meanwhile, Gurmel Singh and Hari Ram were coming from the temple side. The three got together and took the girl in the corner near the gymnasium. Then they raped her one after the other.

"We are collecting evidence against the accused so that they are convicted. I will not spare any black sheep in the police department. It is really a shame that the ASI, who was the beat in charge and was wearing a uniform, raped a minor girl. I cannot spare him," said the SSP.

The girl was allegedly raped last night when she was sitting in the park with her boyfriend. She was raped for one hour by the trio. The matter came to light when some evening walkers spotted her crying inconsolably last evening. They took her to the deputy commissioner's residence that is just a few metres from Rakh Bagh. It was after the intervention of DC that the police swung into action immediately.

Kin desert victim

The rape victim was deserted by her relatives in Guru Nanakpura after the rape incident yesterday. She has been sent to Nari Niketan at Jalandhar by the Ludhiana police. The police said she belonged to Lucknow and was staying with a relative, Vinod Kumar, at Guru Nanakpura. He refused to support her anymore.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080413/main2.htm