The UP government on Thursday suspended three police officials and ordered a high-level inquiry against a senior IPS officer in connection with the Divya rape and murder case in Kanpur last year.
Divya, 11, a student of class 6 of Gyan Bharati Sthali School, was allegedly raped in the school and brutally murdered by the son of the school's manager on September 27, 2010.
The government's action came after receiving the report of the criminal investigation department of the state police's crime branch (CBCID), which had accused the additional SP (rural) Lal Bahadur, circle officer Laxmi Niwas Mishra and station house officer (SHO) of Kalyanpur, Anil Kumar, in trying to hush up the case. The CBCID had indicted these police officers for failing to handle the case properly.
HT had run a month-long campaign demanding justice for Divya. The issue inspired a public campaign, with HT organising conclaves and candle light processions, which received immense response.
Thus on October 13 when the HT report had compelled the police to arrest the school manager's son, Piyush Verma, the police raided the newspaper office accusing its staff of stealing vehicles, threatened reporters and picked up their vehicles. The police also confiscated newspaper's supply vans in the city and blocked the route to newspaper's printing facility, not allowing a single van to move out. Around midnight, HT employees on their way back home from work were detained and their vehicles impounded.
{{/usCountry}}Thus on October 13 when the HT report had compelled the police to arrest the school manager's son, Piyush Verma, the police raided the newspaper office accusing its staff of stealing vehicles, threatened reporters and picked up their vehicles. The police also confiscated newspaper's supply vans in the city and blocked the route to newspaper's printing facility, not allowing a single van to move out. Around midnight, HT employees on their way back home from work were detained and their vehicles impounded.
{{/usCountry}}However, the campaign continued, soon turning into a public movement. It is then that the state government transferred some erring police officials, including DIG Prem Prakash.
The government has now directed additional DGP (law and order) Brijlal to probe the supervisory role of the then DIG Prem Prakash.