“Family of rape victim going through a traumatic experience”

Four days on, accused yet to be even questioned in rape, dowry harassment case

“The family is in the dark and going through a traumatic experience.

We are pained by certain reports in the media which are revealing details of the family of the victim and hence compromising the identity of the victim,” a relative of the retired IAS officer’s daughter who was allegedly raped by her brother-in-law when she was eight months pregnant, told The Hindu.

Speaking to

The Hindu over phone, the relative also added that “the victim, who is the complainant, has not yet received a copy of the fresh FIR filed by the Mysuru police and has cooperated with all requests from the investigators.”

However, even four days after the complaint was filed in Bengaluru, which also alleged dowry harassment by her in-laws, the accused, who belongs to an influential family, are yet to be even questioned by the Mysuru police. While senior police officials said a decision on summoning the accused will be taken only after completing the due procedure of law, sources in V.V. Puram police said the house of the accused has been vacated, raising concerns over the impact on investigations. However, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vinayak Patil told

The Hindu that a decision on questioning the accused will be taken only after the victim’s statement is recorded before the magistrate and a mahazar is conducted at the place of the alleged crime. “The process of investigation is continuing. The recording of the victim’s statement is not yet complete,” he said. A team of police officials from Mysuru visited Bengaluru on Saturday in connection with the recording of the statement. Meanwhile, some senior police officials pointed out that “while it is the prerogative of the investigating officer, in a case of this nature swift action is necessary, especially as the accused is said to belong to an influential family”. It may be mentioned here that the victim, who has shifted to her parents’ house in Bengaluru along with her husband after delivery, had lodged a complaint on Wednesday with Bengaluru city police.

After the case was transferred to Mysuru police, the V.V. Puram police, under whose jurisdiction the house of the accused is located, registered a fresh FIR on Friday and began investigations.

Meanwhile, R.K. Raghavan, former CBI Director told

The Hindu, “While it is not mandated by law that the accused should be arrested immediately, it is imperative that the accused be at least questioned in a case of such nature, especially in the context of rising crimes against women.”