SC questions Delhi cops on five-year-old girl`s rape, asks it to file affidavit

SC declined to initiate contempt action against Delhi Police for alleged delay in lodging FIR for missing child in case of rape of five-yr-old girl.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to initiate contempt action against the Delhi Police for alleged delay in lodging FIR for missing child in the case of rape of a five-year-old girl but took serious exception that money was offered to the family members to keep quiet. The court was not impressed with the submission that the concerned constable, who had offered Rs 2000 to the family, has been suspended and said he must not have been acting on his own. "He must have been acting on some instruction. Do you think he was acting on his own? Why should a constable go himself and offer money. Somebody must have been responsible," a bench comprising Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and justices Vikramajit Sen and Sharad Arvind Bobde said. The remarks were made after Additional Solicitor General Sidharth Luthra said the constable has been suspended and the police had acted swiftly on receiving the complaint about the missing girl child. The bench said though it was not proceeding to issue notice on the contempt plea filed by an NGO, it was necessary to seek a short affidavit from the Delhi Police on the steps taken by it relating to the rape of the girl in east Delhi. "We are not issuing Rule or notice but only asking the Delhi Police to file a short affidavit," the bench said adding "since the ASG is present he is directed to file an affidavit relating to the matter". The bench, which posted the matter for hearing on May 6, was, however, annoyed that all sorts of people are filing petitions and applications on the issue. "The problem is that everybody has started filing applications and it is difficult to find out which is a genuine," the bench said at the beginning of the hearing. A five-year-old girl was gang-raped in the national capital by two men belonging to Bihar. Both the men were apprehended from their native place. The brutal rape of the minor shocked and outraged the whole nation with the Delhi Police coming under heavy criticism for their apathetic attitude. The family of the victim had alleged that the cops had given them Rs 2000 to keep their mouths shut and not file an FIR. Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar had also come under heavy criticism for appearing before the media after much delay and failing to tackle law and order in Delhi. However, he refused to resign saying that the failure of his cops was not his responsibility. With PTI inputs