Ggm cops auction accused’s vehicle to compensate victim

Police auctioned a car bought by a rape accused to compensate the victim, marking the first use of a new provision for victim compensation in India.

A car purchased by a rape accused was attached and auctioned off by police to compensate the victim of the money which he extorted from her, police said on Tuesday. Investigators said that section 107 (attachment, forfeiture or restoration of property suspected to be proceeds of crime) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was invoked in the case, the first time in the country the provision has been used to compensate a victim.

Police said the accused, a photographer by profession, was arrested on January 4 and is still in judicial custody.

Investigators said that the 34-year-old victim, a resident of Sector-90 working at a multinational firm, had alleged that the man, who is from Rajasthan’s Jaipur, had raped her last year on the pretext marriage and had circulated her nude photographs among his friends.

He had also taken ₹24 lakh and gold jewellery from her, claiming he needed it to start a business, but, instead, he used the cash to purchase a car in his mother’s name and repay a loan taken by his younger brother. The victim alleged that the accused had given the jewellery to his mother.

On her complaint, an FIR was registered against him under sections 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means), 77 (voyeurism), 308(2) (extortion) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act at Sector-10 police station on January 2.

Police said the accused, a photographer by profession, was arrested on January 4 and is still in judicial custody.

Inspector Kuldeep Singh, station house officer of Sector-10 police station, said that on January 11, police moved to court with a prayer to attach the car as the proceeds of crime. “The order approving of the attachment of the car, a Volkswagen Virtus bearing Rajasthan registration number, was passed on January 21,” he said.

Police then fixed a base price for the vehicle basis a quote from the transport department officials and handed the ₹11.30 lakh over to the victim on Friday after the car was finally auctioned off to the highest bidder through eAuction India, a central government portal, on February 25.

Abhilaksh Joshi, assistant commissioner of police (ACP-West), said it was for the first time in the country that a state police has used this new provision under BNSS for victim compensation by auctioning property amassed through proceeds of crime.

“There have been a few instances where police got proceeds of crime attached but they were never auctioned for getting a victim compensated,” Joshi said.

“Earlier, this power was only with central agencies like Enforcement Directorate under special laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Police were not empowered to auction and to compensate the victim in such manner,” he said.

The ACP said that bank statements had clearly established that car was purchased using victim’s money and the accused had also confessed to this before court during attachment proceedings.

“The chargesheet was submitted against the accused on Friday and this compensation process was completed within 60 days’ time,” he said, adding, “We are in process of recovering further proceeds of crime from the accused by freezing his bank accounts.”

Gaurav Dubey, a lawyer who practises at the Gurugram civil court, said that BNSS section 107 and its subsections empower police to attach any property related to the case at any stage of the investigation.

“This provision was absent in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Police can move the court even before filing a chargesheet and pray for attachment of such properties which is strictly-court supervised at each and every step,” he said.

Dubey said that the accused has to be served notice and given 14 days under the provision to file an explanation and submit his side on why the property should not be attached. “After a court order, attachment and auction can be done by police,” he added.