Rape survivor fails to record statement after being taken to court in same vehicle as the accused

Public prosecutor Bharat Negi termed the police action wrong and said, “As per law, in any case, the victim cannot be brought before the accused in sexual crimes. She can only be brought before the accused just for a few seconds during his identification process before the court.”

A nine-year-old Dalit rape survivor was unable to record her statement in a local court in Dehradun after the Uttarakhand police took her and the 28-year-old person accused of raping her in the same vehicle on Saturday. The public prosecutor criticised police negligence.

The Uttarakhand police took her and the 28-year-old person accused of raping her in the same vehicle(HTPhoto)

Inspector general, Garhwal range, Ajay Rautela said, the police vehicle had broken down that forced them to hire a private vehicle.

“The police station’s vehicle had broken down after which they took them in a private vehicle,” he said.

Public prosecutor Bharat Negi termed the police action wrong and said, “As per law, in any case, the victim cannot be brought before the accused in sexual crimes. She can only be brought before the accused just for a few seconds during his identification process before the court. Whatever may be the reason, the police action in this incident was wrong,” he added.

Singh also accused police of gross negligence and said, “The victim and the accused were in the same vehicle for at least three to four hours till they reached the court. Due to this, she got traumatised and couldn’t give her statements before the court.”

The girl had complained of severe stomach pain on Sunday morning after which she was rushed to a hospital in Mussoorie, which further referred her to a Dehradun hospital. “She was brought to Dehradun for treatment from Mussoorie late on Sunday evening. It seems that she is in trauma. However, she would be given precautionary treatment,” said Dr KK Singh, additional chief medical officer