Mother accuses cops of soft pedalling case. Minor girl’s ‘rape’ triggers communal clashes in loni; 6 cops suspended
Police and paramilitary forces continue to keep vigil in loni town of Ghaziabad district which witnessed a communal flare-up after a 65-year-old man allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl in his neighbourhood in this town bordering the national Capital. Six cops have also been suspended for dereliction of duty.
The mother of the victim, who hails from Etah town of Uttar Pradesh, said, “Sher Mohammad lured my child to his house on Sunday evening and raped her there. I work in a private company in Delhi. Taking advantage of my absence, the accused was trying to lure my daughter since long. But he succeeded on Sunday and committed the dastardly crime. Police tried to make light of the matter when I went to lodge a complaint.”
She said police did not take it seriously when the child complained about the rape. “Why would my innocent child lieIJ Instead of conducting a scientific test, police misled us by claiming that they had not found any injury. Why did they not conduct a pathological test on the vaginal swabIJ” she asked.
Angered at the lax attitude of the police, the residents blockaded the Delhi-Saharanpur road. “We have registered a case of sexual assault against 65-year-old Sher Mohammad. He was arrested and produced before the court which sent him to 15-day judicial custody. Another case has been registered
against 150 unidentified rioters who tried to disturb the peace of the city. No arrest has been made in the rioting case so far. An investigation is being conducted, video footage is being screened to identify rioters,” said loni police station inspector Gorakh Nath Yadav.
Before the situation could go out of control, the administration swung into action and deployed police and paramilitary forces, given the proximity of loni to Muzaffarnagar (about 100 km), which witnessed one of the worst communal riots last September. “The law and order situation is under control. The PAC, the RAF and civil police are keeping a close watch on every development in the city,” said IG Police K Satyanarayan.