Investigation of Mumbai’s minor girl under guidance of CP

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Rohit W. Joshi, on Thursday (December 12), ordered to conduct an inquiry through a female officer of police inspector rank (under supervision of the Commissioner of Police) into the sexual exploitation of a Mumbai-based minor girl in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

The court underlined that the investigation should be handed over to a female police officer either from the crime branch or police station other than Jawaharnagar or from a special team focusing on child abuse cases. The investigating officer (IO) must immediately record the victim's supplementary statement in the presence of her mother and lawyer and take necessary action accordingly.

It is expected that the legal procedures should be followed as per the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and submit a report to the divisional bench on December 19, 2024, stated the court order.

The criminal petition was filed by the minor victim girl through Adv Ashish Jadhavwar in the High Court. The petition stated that the youth was possessing her video clip and on its basis, he was blackmailing and sexually exploiting her. To delete the video clip from the mobile phone, he called the minor girl to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and again sexually exploited her. He also pressurised her for conversion and beat her. A few citizens passing through the road freed her from the boy and took her to Jawaharnagar police station.

However, treating her as an adult, the police did not register her complaint as per her say, instead just registered a normal case of assault. She was made to wait in the police station during the whole night. Hence the victim, on Thursday, filed a petition in the court. The bench took serious cognizance and ordered police to produce CCTV footage of the police station till the afternoon (2.30 pm). Hence the police produced the footage. The chief government pleader Amarjeetsingh Girase represented the government.

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HC raise several questions

The bench questioned why the complaint of the victim was not registered by a female officer. Why the video shooting of the complaint registering process was not made although it is mandatory to do so? Why was the victim made to halt in the police station for the whole night? Why was her statement not recorded as she said? Hence there were many such questions raised by the bench during the hearing.