‘Haryana Police tried to save the accused in the rape case of 4-year-old girl’: Supreme Court formed SIT

Bureau Prayagraj. The Supreme Court today came down heavily on the Haryana Police for diverting the investigation into the rape of a 4-year-old girl in Gurugram, and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to take over the investigation. The court said that the police tried to reduce the seriousness of the crime.

Although there was preliminary evidence indicating the offense of ‘aggravated sexual assault’ under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, the police registered the FIR only for ‘aggravated sexual assault’ under Section 10, which is a less serious offence. “This is a clear case in which the police have done everything possible to protect the accused,” the court said.

“From the Commissioner to the Sub-Inspector, the entire police force made every effort to prove that the child had no evidence or that the words of her parents had no substance. There is no scope on record to show that no offense under Section 6 of POCSO was committed. However, the police registered an FIR but for some unknown reasons made the offense less serious under Section 10.”

The Supreme Court has constituted a three-member SIT, which includes Haryana cadre IPS officers, to investigate the case. The Supreme Court has directed the Haryana government to notify the SIT as soon as possible and directed the Gurugram Police to hand over the documents related to the investigation to the SIT by Thursday.