UP Shocker: Raped by 4 Men, Teen Allegedly Sexually Attacked Again by SHO in Police Station

Lalitpur (UP):  A 13-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by four men over three days was sexually assaulted again by the SHO (station house officer) of a police station where she had been left by her attackers, police said on Wednesday.

Five people have been arrested and an FIR filed against six, including the teen's aunt and the SHO of the Pali police station who is absconding.

Besides, all the other policemen of the station have been taken away from active duty and sent to police lines.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Jhansi, Jogendra Kumar has been asked to probe the matter and submit the report within 24 hours, officials said.

As chilling details of the case came to light, the Opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress highlighted the vulnerability of women and asked where they should go to file their complaint and whom should they trust.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, however, said strict action will be taken and the stringent National Security Act will be slapped against the accused.

According to the mother of the multiple-rape survivor, her daughter was taken to Bhopal, about 240 km from here, on April 22 by four men and raped there for three days. The men left the girl at the Pali police station, where she was again sexually attacked, she alleged.    

The girl narrated her ordeal during counselling at an NGO, which approached the superintendent of police. Following his intervention, an FIR was registered on Tuesday.

ADG (Law and Order) Prasant Kumar added in Lucknow that the DIG has been told to stay in Lalitpur till the case is solved.

"While the SHO has been suspended, all policemen of Pali police station in Lalitpur have been sent to police lines," said Additional Director General of Police, Kanpur Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar.

He said the victim's aunt has also been arrested, adding that police teams are searching for the absconding SHO Tilakdhari Saroj.

The Samajwadi Party attacked the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government over the incident, and said, "The biggest question in the BJP government is whom to trust and whom to not. A minor who reached the police station to file rape complaint was raped by the SHO himself.

"Now the CM should say, where should the victim's daughters go? Security of the victim should be ensured and strict action should be taken against those found guilty," the party said in a tweet in Hindi.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is expected to visit Lalitpur to meet the rape survivor's family.

Hitting out at the state government in a series of tweets, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "The incident of gangrape with a 13-year-old girl in Lalitpur and then rape by a police officer after taking a complaint shows how the real reforms of law and order are being suppressed under the noise of "bulldozer". If police station are not safe for women, where will they go with their complaints."

"Has the UP government seriously thought about increasing the deployment of women in police stations, making them safer for women? The Congress party had in its women's manifesto made many important points for women security..Today its Lalitpur...", she said.

To prevent such incidents, serious steps should be taken for women's safety and a women friendly law system, she added.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said strict action will be taken against the accused.

"The matter will be taken up in a fast track court and action will be so strict against the policemen involved that even their next generations will cry out in pain. The NSA will also be invoked against them and no one will be spared," Pathak told reporters in Lucknow.

Asked about politics being played over the case, Pathak said, "I want to ask the opposition not to politicise criminal matters. She (victim) is our daughter and if wrong was done against her, the government is committed to take action and will not spare anyone at any cost."

On Akhilesh Yadav's visit to Lalitpur, Pathak mockingly said, "He (Yadav) thinks if something happens, he can start his political tourism".

Asked about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's attack on the government, the deputy chief minister said, "She should see the condition of women in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh."

The police said an FIR was lodged under various sections of the IPC, including 363 (kidnapping), 376 (rape), 376 B (intercourse by public servant with woman in his custody), 120 B (conspiracy), POCSO Act and SC/ST Act.