The Assam unit of Congress has resented the posting of an IPS officer charge-sheeted for sexually assaulting a minor as the Superintendent of Police of a district in Bodoland Territorial Council.
The 2012 batch IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh was posted on May 14, almost two months after a special judge for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act filed a charge sheet against him for allegedly sexually assaulting the 14-year-old daughter of a senior police officer in December 2019.
The charge sheet was filed under relevant sections of the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code.
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In a letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday, former MP and All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev objected to the IPS officer’s posting when the “case, registered in 2020, is still being probed by the Assam Criminal Investigation Department”.
Citing media reports, she pointed out that the charge sheet has “sufficient evidence” to prove that the accused “committed aggravated sexual assault as defined under Section 9(a)(iv) and Section 9(c) of the POCSO Act, 2012, as well as offences under Section 354 and 354 A (assault or criminal force to outrage modesty, sexual harassment) of IPC”.
“The state of women security in Assam has only worsened in last few years with the State topping the list of incidences of crime against women in India. It is a matter of serious concern that a police officer charged with sexual assault of a minor is given the responsibility of maintaining law and order of a district in Assam,” Ms. Dev said.
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She sought immediate cancellation of the accused officer’s appointment and justice for the victim through a speedy investigation and trial. “The people of Assam expect and deserve a safe and secure Assam while this action proves otherwise,” she said.