Four police officials in Madhya Pradesh were suspended on Friday and the city Superintendent of Police (SP) was transferred over a delay in lodging a complaint of a 19-year-old student, studying for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), who was allegedly tied up and gang-raped for three hours here three days ago.
Director General of Police (DGP) R K Shukla announced the suspension of the four officials -- three inspectors and a sub-inspector -- for their alleged negligence which led to the delay in registering the offence.
“We have suspended three station in-charges (of MP Nagar, Habibganj and GRP police stations), a sub-inspector and transferred the city SP to the police headquarters over the issue (of delay in registering a complaint),” he told PTI.
The action was taken after it was reported in the media that it took nearly 24 hours for the survivor to file a complaint, after three police stations refused to lodge an FIR citing jurisdiction issues, a senior police official said.
The media reports were verified by police before the action was taken, he added.
The woman, a student, was allegedly raped by four men near the railway tracks near the city’s Habibganj Railway station, and just about 100 metres from a railway police post here when she was returning from a coaching class in MP Nagar, a police officer had said.
The incident came to light on Thursday. Police arrested all the four accused after the woman lodged a case at the GRP police station (at the Habibganj railway station).