New Delhi: A police sub-inspector`s reluctance three-and-half years ago to register a rape case on a woman`s complaint has proved costly to him as a Delhi court has asked the city police chief to probe his complicity in dithering on slapping rape charges against the man.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau ordered the Delhi police commissioner to probe Sub-Inspector Bahadur Singh`s culpability in ignoring the illiterate woman`s allegations in May 2007, while convicting Kakrola resident Madan Kumar on charges of raping an illiterate Nangloi-based woman and sentencing him to ten years in jail.
While also asking the police chief to take necessary action against the erring sub-inspector, the judge noted that the police had eventually slapped rape charges against the man nearly five months later on orders of the court.
The police had earlier registered case against the man only on lesser charges of beating the woman.
"The conduct of the investigating officer SI Bahadur Singh is certainly required to be placed before the Commissioner of Police for appropriate action.
"Copy of the judgment and order on sentence is also directed to be placed before the Commissioner of Police, Delhi for information and appropriate action against the officer, under intimation to this court," the ASJ said while sentencing Madan Kumar.
The court also took serious note of the way the investigating officer of the case conducted the probe.
"It is evident that the manner in which investigating officer SI Bahadur Singh has conducted the investigations smacks of malafides. Rather than investigating the case fairly on the various aspects involved, he has tried his best to save the accused (Madan)," Judge Lau said.
The court further noted that the statement of the victim, an illiterate, was written by the investigating officer and he "deliberately" did not mention about the allegations of rape.
"The victim is totally illiterate and her statement has been written down by the investigating officer in his own hand where she had only signed. It is in this statement that the allegations of rape have not been mentioned. This appears to have been deliberately done by the investigating officer," the court said and also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Kumar.
The investigating officer did not register the FIR for almost five days after the incident, the court observed.
"There has been a long delay in registration of the FIR for five continuous days, totally attributed to the investigating officer.
"It is the investigating officer who despite having received the medical reports showing history of assault (on the victim) and also the name and identity of the accused, did
not get the FIR registered," the judge said.
PTI
