A 23-year-old woman was allegedly raped at gunpoint by a drunken assistant sub-inspector (ASI) here last week, an embarrassed Delhi Police admitted on Saturday.
The events leading up to the incident, reported in Rani Bagh on Thursday, were caught on CCTV.
The accused, Jasveer (50), was arrested after the victim approached the local police with her complaint on Friday, and has been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sen Bassi was forced to make a statement on the incident minutes after reports related to it surfaced on Saturday, saying that the police were examining the accused policeman’s dismissal under Article 311 (2)(B) of the Constitution, and that the force would ensure that a chargesheet against the accused was filed at the earliest.
Later in the day, the police dismissed the accused ASI from service.
“As far as departmental action is concerned, we are not going to wait for a departmental enquiry. He will be dismissed under Article 311 (2) B where a person is dismissed straightaway...He will not be spared...We are determined to take strictest possible action against any police officer who indulges in transgression of the law,” Mr. Bassi told reporters.
According to the police, the accused ASI, who was posted at the Punjabi Bagh police station, paid one of his friends a visit at his residence in Rani Bagh on Thursday evening.
The ASI and his friend got seated in his drawing room where they consumed alcohol and snacks which were served by the victim.
During the course of the evening, according to a senior police officer, the ASI demanded that his friend allow his domestic help to perform sexual favours for him following which she was summoned by her employer.
Jasveer then brandished his licensed fire arm and threatened the woman to do as she was told failing which physical harm was headed her way.
This was allegedly followed by forced intercourse.
“CCTV footage gathered from a camera installed in the room where the men were sitting clearly shows Jasveer brandishing his weapon and threatening the victim. We are treating this footage as the very foundation of the evidence against him,” said a police officer.
The police said they were approached with a formal complaint by the victim on Friday following which she was subjected to a medical examination which confirmed rape. The spot was examined and the CCTV footage from the spot was scanned which established her claim and led to Jasveer’s arrest.
He was booked for sexual assault and under relevant sections of the Arms Act, and produced at a city court on Saturday which sent him to 14-day judicial custody at Tihar jail.
