The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday sent a three-member fact-finding team to Dholpur in Rajasthan, where a 26-year-old woman was reportedly gang-raped at gunpoint in front of her children and her husband. According to the statement, the Commission will visit with the survivor and her family, as well as the concerned SHO, SP, and investigating officer, to learn more about the inquiry.
NCW sends a three-member fact-finding team to Rajasthan’s Dholpur where a 26-year-old woman was reportedly gang-raped on gun point in front of her children and husband. The team will meet the victim & her family & hold a meeting with the concerned SHO, SP & Investigating Officer. pic.twitter.com/6FaKZk6nfo
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 22, 2022
On March 19, as the commission came to know about the crime, Rekha Sharma, the chairperson, wrote to the Director-General of Police in Rajasthan, requesting that an FIR be filed against the accused persons and that they be arrested as soon as possible. In its letter, the commission also requested the finest medical treatment for the survivor as well as security for the survivor and her family.
The statement however revealed that an interim action report sent to the NCW by the Rajasthan police stated that an FIR had been filed under relevant sections, but the accused are yet to be apprehended. According to the reports, a 26-year-old Dalit woman on March 17 was gang-raped in front of her children in Rajasthan’s Dholpur district. The woman said in her complaint that she was returning home from an agricultural field with her husband and children earlier this week. The family was halted by six men who thrashed the couple.
The accused hit the complainant’s spouse in the head with the butt of a revolver. The accused then sexually attacked the woman in front of her children, even though the woman had previously accused the same individuals of molesting her. The accused have been identified as Lalu Thakur, Dhan Singh Thakur, Vipin Thakur, Mohit Thakur, Sachin Thakur, and Lokendra Singh Thakur.
Rajasthan police denies charges of gang-rape, allege victim was only assaulted
Further according to the reports, the Police on Monday denied the incident of gang rape and said that the woman was ‘just assaulted’. Shivraj Meena, Superintendent of Police, Dholpur stated that ‘every aspect of the case was thoroughly investigated by recording the statements of 164 persons’. “Investigation revealed that there was no incident of gang rape with the victim”, he added admitting to an assault on the woman.
He further stated, “Investigation revealed that on March 15, six people of the village had beaten up the woman. After this, the woman filed a case of gang rape. The accused who assaulted the woman have been identified.” OpIndia tried to confirm the development by contacting the circle officer of Dholpur rural Vijay Kumar Singh but the call was left unattended, later switched off.
Reportedly, an FIR has been filed at the Kanchanpur police station in Dholpur district’s Bari tehsil. The accused have been charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The NCW has also asked for a time limit on the investigation and has requested that every action taken must be reported to the commission within seven days.
