Finally, police registered a case against the woman civil judge Deepali Sharma for allegedly confining and torturing a teenage girl who was working as a domestic help at her residence in Haridwar. The case was registered at SIIDCUl police station in Haridwar district on Monday night. Circle officer of Kankhal has been asked to head the team formed to probe the case. On February 1, Sharma had been attached to Tehri court following suspension order issued by the High Court. Notably, acting on the Uttarakhand High Court’s order on January 29, the district judge of Haridwar, Rajendra Singh Chauhan had rescued the girl from the residence of Sharma during a joint operation launched by police and the child welfare society.
The 13- year- old girl, who was one of the nine siblings, was a native of Padampuri village in Nainital and as per the police sources, her father Hemchand Dani had sent her to the residence of the civil judge to work as the domestic help. It was alleged that she had been kept confined within the residence for close to four years. The medical examination which had been conducted on her at the district hospital after she was rescued had found nearly 20 injury marks, including burn injuries, on her body. However, the accused civil judge had dismissed the torture story as concocted and maintained that she had treated the girl as her own child. Things had turned even murkier after the girl’s father had backtracked on the torture and confinement charges.
Speaking of the matter, SSP Krishna Kumar V K said, “We have registered the case against the lady civil judge Deepali Sharma at the SIIDCUl police station on the directive of the High Court. Kankhal circle officer Manoj Katyal would head the probe.”
It is further learnt that the woman judge has been booked under sections 75 of IPC of the Juvenile Justice Act for punishment for cruelty to child, 323 of voluntary act of causing grievous hurt and 370 for indulging in trafficking of persons. The girl is presently under the protection of the child welfare committee, said police.
The committee members are extra cautious about the security of the girl, given the high-profile nature of the case. Even those who claimed to be her parents had not been allowed to meet her as the Aadhaar cards presented by them could not be verified online, said the committee members. A member of the committee Ranjana Sharma informed that they had presented notary- certified copies of the cards and failed to present the original ones. The chairman of the child welfare committee Vinod Kumar Sharma said that if the couple produces the original Aadhaar cards they would be allowed to meet the girl.