Protests erupted in Haryana's Rohtak town on Sunday against the State Government and police inaction into the case of brutal gang-rape and murder of a mentally challenged Nepalese woman last Sunday. The protestors on Sunday took out a march in Rohtak town. It was reported that Rohtak-Delhi highway was blocked by protestors in the evening.
Haryana Police, under fire from various quarters for not taking action in the matter, on Sunday claimed it was conducting raids to nab the culprits. Additional Director General of Police (law and Order) Mohammad Akil said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Rohtak Deputy Superintendent of Police Amit Bhatia had been constituted to investigate the case.
Over 10 officers were part of the SIT and its sub-teams were also investigating the incident. “A team of specialists from Forensic Sciences laboratory, Madhuban, visited the scene of crime and collected all physical evidence, which has been sent to the laboratory for further examination. Criminals who have been involved in similar crimes are being interrogated,” said Akil.
Police had on Saturday announced a reward of Rs1 lakh for any credible information about the rape. The woman’s body was found in an agricultural field near Bahu Akbarpur village on the Rohtak-Hisar highway by villagers on February 4. The post-mortem report stated objects had been thrust into her body. Doctors had said that the woman was gang-raped before being brutally killed.
The woman’s skull had a fracture and her body parts had been eaten. She had gone missing on February 1 and a relative had filed a complaint with police in Rohtak. However, police did not register a case. The woman had come to Rohtak from Nepal a couple of months back for treatment at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak.
Kiran Choudhry, leader of the Congress legislature Party (ClP) in Haryana, on Sunday lambasted BJP Government, led by Manohar lal Khattar, for the despicable gang-rape and brutal murder of the mentally challenged woman and flayed the police for its inaction and inability to nab the culprits. The former Excise and Taxation Minister said that the law-and-order situation in Haryana had gone from bad to worse with spurt in the number of rape cases, abductions and extortions across the state. look, things are slipping out of the hands of the State administration, she remarked.
“The heinous crime has earned Haryana the infamy of Nirbhaya-type incident involving a helpless and mentally challenged woman and sent shock waves across the State. Though the heinous and gruesome crime was committed a week ago, the SIT, constituted by the police, is yet to snoop down on the culprits who are still at large. It is time the BJP Government woke up from its deep slumber and acted to protect people’s life and limbs”, she demanded.
A day before, State women’s commission chairperson Kamlesh Panchal and vice-chairperson Suman Dahiya had visited the family of the victim and also met Rohtak senior superintendent of police (SSP) Shashank Anand. Panchal assured the family that the Commission would demand death penalty for the culprits. The Commission had also took a serious note of an allegation against the police of being lax in investigation.
local member of Parliament Deepender Singh Hooda and local legislator Munish Grover had also visited the family and promised it support. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has also condemned the incident and accused the state government for lawlessness in Haryana.