Chandigarh: Expressing deep shock and concern over the way a widow, a resident of Kapurthala, was paraded naked and gangraped by 10 persons, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice V.K. Jain today came down heavily on the Punjab Police. “We are aghast to notice that in the 21st century, a woman can be paraded naked and raped,” he remarked.
When the counsel representing the Punjab government submitted that of the 10 accused, five had been arrested while the remaining five had been declared proclaimed offenders (POs), the Chief Justice directed, “I know the definition of a proclaimed offender in Punjab. Either you arrest the so-called proclaimed offenders or your police officials will have to face the music.” He further expressed shock after reading the affidavit of the Superintendent of Police, Kapurthala, who had admitted the occurrence of the inhuman incident.
The Chief Justice directed the Punjab Police to give information as to whether the five accused declared POs had been arrested or not. He further directed the Punjab government to decide and inform the court as to what amount of compensation it intended to offer the widow and her children.
The directions were passed in wake of a petition filed by the widow, who, along with her children, has gone into hiding following threats from the accused.
The petitioner alleged that two residents of Kapurthala, on November 21, 2006, forcibly entered her house and beat her and her children on their private parts. She alleged that despite repeated complaints to the police, no action was taken against the accused.
On February 23 this year, the accused, along with eight others, allegedly came to her house and threw her from her roof. She was then abducted and gangraped. The accused also allegedly cut her hair, urinated in her mouth and paraded her naked. The widow approached the High Court seeking arrest of the accused, after which notices were issued to the parties concerned.
Even the victim’s medical report raises doubts about the fairness of police investigation. It does not show injury to her private parts, whereas she has been repeatedly alleging that she was “brutally pinned down, punched, kicked and gangraped by 10 persons”. The widow has also submitted that she apprehends threat to her and her family’s life.
Source: ENS