Following the arrest of three of the five accused of gang-raping a 20-year-old Dalit woman, the family of the victim on Wednesday demanded that the case be heard in a fast-track court.
“Maximum punishment”
“We demand that the government set-up a fast-track court to hear the case for a speedy trial. In the earlier case as well, only two of the five accused were arrested by the police and they too managed to come out on bail. Now we demand that the police arrest all five accused at the earliest and ensure that they get maximum punishment,” the victim’s cousin told The Hindu over telephone.
Earlier in the day, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Muhammad Akil visited the victim at the Pandit B.D. Sharma Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak and assured the family of an impartial probe into the matter. He also told the family that a Special Investigation Team, comprising two Deputy Superintendents of Police, had been constituted to investigate the case.
The family of the three accused too met the officer claiming the charges against them were fabricated and that the victim’s family was demanding money to withdraw the case.
Accused claim innocence
The trio have claimed that they were not present at the crime scene. They also furnished evidence in the form of closed-circuit television camera footage, mobile phone locations and eye-witnesses to support their claims.
The victim is yet to record her statement before the judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Though doctors have declared her fit to give statement, the family claims she is traumatised and that it may take her couple of days more to record her statement.
Meanwhile, the court on Wednesday remanded the three accused, Amit, Jagmohan and Sandeep, to four days in police custody. The trio were arrested on Tuesday.
Lashing out at the Manohar Lal Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party government for deteriorating law and order situation in the State, especially with concern to the crimes against women, Haryana Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhry demanded that immediate steps be taken to nab and bring to book the remaining two culprits who are still at large for their involvement in the rape case.
“Her rape by same rapists who were out on bail betrays the BJP government’s insensitivity, exposes its tall claims on the law and order situation, and raises two pertinent questions. One, why did the State not oppose their bail after the rape three years ago; the second, while the culprits were granted bail, why was the victim and her family, who had shifted to Rohtak, not given adequate police protection,” asked Ms. Choudhry.
