E-Paper
8 days on, UP police yet to respond to NCW notice on Unnao rape survivor security
Uttar Pradesh police is yet to respond to the National Commission for Women’s (NCW) query on what all actions it took to ensure safety of Unnao gang-rape survivor
Uttar Pradesh police is yet to respond to the National Commission for Women’s (NCW) query on what all actions it took to ensure safety of Unnao gang-rape survivor and her family.
The commission had issued a notice to the UP Director-General of Police (DGP) OP Singh seeking case details on July 29, a day after the car-truck collision in which the Unnao rape survivor and her lawyer got critically injured while two of her aunts died.
“We had sent a fact-finding panel to the Unnao and Lucknow, which spoke to family and the doctors. The team also wrote to the police but they are yet to respond,” said Rekha Sharma, chairperson, NCW.
The NCW on Monday submitted the interim report observing that the police did not help the survivor’s family to the union ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD).
In the report, the NCW has observed that the police did not help the survivor’s family. This, when the family wrote to different people in the police administration.
“The victim’s mother told the commission that Unnao police did not cooperate initially but after the incident the family got all assistance,” said Sharma.
The commission also observed that the police had hastily organised a press conference where they described the incident as an accident.
“There was no need to comment on it. If a senior police official hints that it may be an accident, this is certainly going to affect the probe,” said a commission official, requesting anonymity.
Sharma said, “What was the need for a press conference to say that it was an accident without investigating the matter?”
“Prima facie it looks that the police did not act responsibly,” she added.
Meanwhile, a fact-finding panel also visited the victim’s family on Tuesday.
Deputy secretary Jyoti Singhal, who headed the panel, said, “We met her family, the DGP, investigation officer and the SSP Rae Bareli. We have gathered some new facts.”
