Shinde backs cops, says rapes happen elsewhere too

Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday courted a fresh controversy in his statement on the brutal rape of a five year-old child in the Capital, saying such incidents had been reported from other parts of the country also.

Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday courted a fresh controversy in his statement on the brutal rape of a five year-old child in the Capital, saying such incidents had been reported from other parts of the country also.

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In his statement tabled in the Lok Sabha amid chaos in the House, Shinde stood up for Delhi Police that has been under attack for its handling of the brutal sexual assault on the girl child.

His statement, however, included a controversial concluding line, which stated : “Such incidents have been reported from other parts of the country also.”
Shinde said the Station House Officer concerned and the Investigating Officer had already been placed under suspension taking note of the lapses in the investigation.

“The Joint CP (Vigilance) has been asked to conduct an enquiry. He shall also enquire into the allegation that the local police paid some money to the father of the victim to hush up the case,” the minister said.

The victim’s parents had alleged that some police personnel had offered them R 2,000 and asked them to keep quiet over the issue.
The minister said an ACP had been suspended for misbehaving with the protestors. “Separately, a departmental enquiry shall be conducted by an officer to be appointed by the Delhi government into this matter,” he said.

Shinde said the matter was first reported to the police on April 15 about the missing girl in Gandhinagar Police Station in east Delhi and the case was registered the same evening.