The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will conduct an independent inquiry into the rape by three Delhi Police personnel of a girl that has been mentioned in the report of the Justice Verma Committee, which suggested measures to make laws more stringent to curb crimes against women.
The news was first reported by >The Hindu .
“It is a very sensitive mater… I will ask my officers to look into it. We will take evidence separately and not ask [the Delhi] police to investigate it. We will cross-examine those kids [who witnessed the crime]… try and work out something to bring the whole truth out,” Home Secretary R.K. Singh told journalists on Friday.
Asked about the concern expressed by the Verma Committee members at the safety and security of the children if the case were reported to the police, Mr. Singh said: “We will ensure that their identity is protected. We will also talk to [committee member] Gopal Subramaniam [about it].”
Significantly, while talking to The Hindu about the incident, Mr. Subramaniam had said the members unanimously decided not to pursue the case, fearing for the safety and security of the children. “We wanted to protect their identity as we feared that the police might launch some kind of vendetta against them...We wanted to save them from the system.” The Hindu ’s report ‘A gang rape Delhi policemen got away with?’ detailed how four trafficked children were witnesses to the incident, in which three personnel had abducted a girl in a Police Control Room van from near a temple situated close to some old, vacant buildings and a ridge.
