Lucknow:Uttar Pradesh Police has decided to hand over the alleged gangrape of the 17-year-old minor and the related custodial death of the survivor’s father to the CBI.
Addressing a joint press conference, Principal Secretary Home Arvind Kumar and DGP OP Singh said the CBI would decide whether to arrest Bangarmau MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
On Wednesday night, on the complaint of the survivor’s mother an FIR was registered against the MLA and his associate Shashi Singh at the Makhi police station in Unnao.
The FIR was registered against Sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abduction or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and Section 3 and 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).
However, despite the serious sections, DGP OP Singh continued to refer to the MLA as a ‘manniya’ (honourable) saying that he was not a convict and merely an accused.
Replying to a question about when he would be arrested, the DGP virtually ruled out his early arrest when he said that now the case had been handed over to CBI, therefore it was the prerogative of the central agency to arrest him based on the facts of the case.
Principal Secretary Home said three reports had been submitted to the government in the matter on Wednesday.
One was the interim report submitted by the SIT team headed by ADG Lucknow Zone Rajeev Krishna after the Unnao visit as well as a separate inquiry report of DIG Prison Love Kumar on the role of the Unnao jail administration for the period of the survivor’s father’s detention.
A third report had been obtained from DM Unnao on the lapses on the part of the Unnao district hospital where the deceased was sent for examination before and during his detention.
Kumar said it was on the basis of these three reports that the FIR was lodged against the MLA and others under the appropriate sections and the decision to hand over the case to CBI was taken to ensure a transparent investigation by a third agency.
The cross-case pertaining the April 2 incident of violence leading to the death of the survivor’s father is also being handed over to the CBI.
The Chief Medical Superintendent of the Unnao district hospital Dr D K Dwivedi and Emergency Medical Officer Dr Prashant Upadhyay have also been placed under suspension.
Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against three more doctors, namely ortho-surgeon Dr Manoj Kumar, surgeon Dr GP Sachan and Emergency Medical Officer Dr Gaurav Agarwal, for laxity in giving proper medical care and treatment to the survivor’s father both prior to judicial custody and on referral from jail while still under judicial custody.
CO Safipur Kunwar Bahadur Singh has also been suspended for negligence in handling the repeated complaints given by the victim.
Principal Secretary Home also said that the survivor and her family had been provided adequate security.
He said the SIT would continue its work of gathering evidence till the CBI formally took over the case.
