In a shocking update that has emerged in the Burari minor rape case, it has come to the fore that the 21-year-old son of suspended Delhi’s Deputy Director of Women and Child Development Department, Premoday Khakha, is also under the scanner in the rape case of the minor girl while she was staying at Khakha’s Burari residence.
In the case, Premoday Khakha, and his wife, Seema Rani, have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the rape of a minor girl. It was earlier reported that Khakha’s family, including his children, knew about the sexual assault and that Delhi Police was planning to interrogate the children who are adults.
According to the reports, Khakha raped the girl for the first time on October 31, 2020, after which he informed his wife, Seema Rani. The accused woman then blamed the victim girl saying that she might have given wrong indications to Khakha. It had also been alleged that Khakha used to give her drugs before raping her.
As per reports, the Delhi Police on Tuesday, August 29 said that Harsh Khakha, son of Premoday, is also being investigated. “He also bought a pregnancy test kit and abortion pills for the victim on his mother Seema Rani’s instruction after they came to know about the victim’s pregnancy,” confirmed Dependra Pathak, the special commissioner of police.
He said that the victim girl confirmed the rape and said that she would call Harsh ‘bhaiya’ (brother). “Based on the statement issued by the girl, we will soon interrogate Harsh, and if any corroborative evidence is found, he will be arrested,” Pathak said.
Delhi Police takes cognisance, directs the WCD department to file a report
Reportedly, the Delhi High Court on Monday, August 28, also took cognisance of the incident and asked the authorities to ensure that the identity of the minor victim girl is not revealed in any manner.
After taking suo motu cognisance of the occurrence, a bench consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula launched a public interest litigation (PIL) on its own merits. The Court also asked the Department of Women and Child Development of the Delhi government to file a report on the matter.
Earlier, it was reported that the girl was fed drugs by Khakha before he brutally raped her. Meanwhile, his wife provided the girl with anti-pregnancy pills. The woman has been accused of hiding the pregnancy of the minor girl and abortion.
The attorney representing Khakha had also stated that the accused did not impregnate the girl and that allegations against him were false as he (Khakha) had undergone a vasectomy about 20 years ago.
The Burari rape case
On August 21, the Delhi Police arrested a senior Delhi government officer named Premoday Khakha (51) for raping a minor girl for over three months in Delhi’s Burari region. The police also arrested the wife of Khakha who allegedly gave the minor girl pills to get rid of the pregnancy caused by the rape. The accused had developed close ties with the victim’s family through a church in north Delhi’s Burari region.
The 17-year-old minor girl complained against Khakha and his wife Seema Rani that the two assaulted her for three months during her stay at their place between October 2020 and April 2021. The victim girl said that Khakha, who served as deputy director in Delhi’s women and child department (WCD), raped her multiple times and his wife forced her to have abortion pills.
As reported earlier, following the death of the father of the girl in October 2022, Khakha, whom the girl referred to as “mama” brought the child to his Burari residence. The victim’s mother, who had known the family for many years, thought her daughter would be safe under Khakha’s supervision, and spending time in their house would help her get over the loss.
However, the girl was raped multiple times. Further, several complaints against Khakha regarding child abuse and inappropriate behaviour at the workplace against women have come to the fore. Detailed reports regarding the same can be read here.
