Ten to record testimony, 14-day custody of accused in Burari minor rape

The list include accused’s daughter and son, aged 22 and 21, respectively, who, according to the minor girl’s statement, knew about the alleged rape.

Police will record the statements of at least 10 people in connection the allegations of rape of a minor girl by a Delhi government official over at least three months, including five people whose names cropped up during the 17-year-old’s initial counselling sessions, officials part of the investigation said on Wednesday.

Suspended rape-accused Delhi government official and his wife were arrested on Monday. (ANI)

Meanwhile, a city court sent to 14-day judicial custody the now-suspended Delhi government official Premoday Khakha, 51, and his wife, Seema Rani. Rani is accused of forcibly giving the minor abortion pills after she became pregnant in January 2020 following the alleged rape.

The investigating team in the case has prepared a list of 10 people whose statements will be recorded as part of the probe, said police officers aware of the development. This also includes Khakha’s daughter and son, aged 22 and 21, respectively, who, according to the girl’s statement, knew about the alleged rape and sexual harassment by their father, as she had told the siblings about it, said one of the police officers, asking not to be named.

The role of the aforementioned five people, whose names and relation to the minor were not shared by the police, is not clear in the case, as the minor’s counsellors have told police that nothing significant was found about these people during the sessions.

However, police said that they may verify them, if required.

“The counsellors told us about the other names that the girl took during the initial counselling. At the same time, they said that things she shared about them were insignificant. But to ensure no gaps are left in the probe, we may consider looking into their role, if required, at any point of investigation,” the officer said.

Another officer, who also requested not to be named, said the counsellors told the police that the name of Khakha, whom she called “mama”, emerged frequently during the counselling sessions, prompting them to probe his role further.

Khakha, who served as deputy director in Delhi’s women and child department (WCD), and his wife were arrested on Monday. The official was also suspended from his post the same day.

On Wednesday, the couple was produced before a city court that sent them to judicial custody for 14 days. The police did not seek their custody as they told the court that they investigators were already in the process of collecting material and documentary evidence in the case, and were also awaiting for the reports of Khakha’s medical examination, including his potency test.

Khakha’s lawyer has termed the allegations of pregnancy as false, as he claimed that his client underwent vasectomy around 20 years ago. Police have said that the potency test reports will help verify the claims.

Khakha allegedly raped the minor several times between October 2020 and December 2021 -- she alleged that she was raped nearly a fortnight after her mother sent her to the man’s Burari house following the death of her father on October 1 that year. The victim soon informed his wife about the alleged rape, and then about her pregnancy in January next year, following which Rani allegedly administered abortion medicines to her. The victim returned to her house in February 2021.

The allegations, however, surfaced only on August 12 during the minor’s counselling after an anxiety attack, following which an FIR was lodged the next day against the Delhi government official under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The two families knew each other since 1998 when they first met at the independent Amazing Grace church in Burari — a small religious group of 30-odd families that is not affiliated to any official diocese. In her statement, the minor girl has also said that the 51-year-old man also molested her at the place of worship whenever he saw her there after February 2021, police said on Tuesday.

Quoting her statement, the police said, the girl alleged that Khakha raped her first on October 31, 2020, nearly a fortnight after she shifted to his Burari house following the death of her father on October 1 that year. She alleged that he drugged her before the sexual assault that happened during the night while she was unconscious, and his wife and two children were at home.

“She told Khakha’s wife about the sexual assault soon after the incident. However, she rebuked her and blamed her for it by saying that she only may have made any gestures before him,” said another police officer, asking not to be named.

Khakha, during his interrogation, denied all the allegations and has maintained that he never sexually assaulted or harassed the girl.