New Delhi, Oct 11 The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant anticipatory bail to the children of suspended Delhi government officer Premoday Khakha in a case of alleged sexual assault of a minor girl.
Khakha's daughter and son, accused of abetting the crime, had moved the court last week seeking anticipatory bail in a case.
A trial court had denied them the relief.
On Wednesday, Justice Saurabh Banerjee said: “I have dismissed application at this stage."
Against Khakha and his wife, the court had taken a suo motu conginsance of the case. His wife reportedly gave the minor medicine to terminate her pregnancy.
During the last hearing, the High Court had sought various authorities’ suggestions on preparation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed in cases involving minors.
Earlier, the court had asked the Delhi Police to file a status report and ensure the protection of the minor's identity and prevent any disclosure.
On August 21, the Delhi Police had arrested 51-year-old Khakha, who has been suspended as deputy director in the Women and Child Development department of Delhi government, and his wife after questioning them for several hours at their residence.
The move came after the victim recorded her statement before a magistrate at a city hospital.
The Khakhas are residents of Shakti Enclave in the Burari area.
The accused allegedly raped the victim repeatedly between 2020 and 2021.
A police source said the accused kept on raping the minor daughter of his friend for months, during which his wife also allegedly assisted him.
"As his wife also aided him in the act and did not report the matter to the police, we have added Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) in the FIR against his wife," the police source had said.
"The most shocking part is that when the victim got pregnant, she was threatened with dire consequences by the accused. When the accused narrated the matter to his wife, instead of helping the victim, the woman sent her son to buy abortion pills, which she gave to the victim," the source had said.
A case was registered under the relevant sections of the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused, the police said.
The victim had met the accused at a church.
Later, after befriending the girl, the accused took her to his house on the pretext of helping her.
In 2020, the father of the victim passed away, after which she went into depression.
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