Policeman sexually assaults minor Dalit girl as colleague keeps watch in Bhopal; arrested

A policeman allegedly lured a 17-year-old Dalit girl on the pretext of inviting her to his daughter’s birthday party and sexually assaulted her in Bhopal, while his colleague kept watch with his three-year-old son, officials told PTI on Friday.

Main accused Santosh Sen, who is attached to the Madhya Pradesh police special task force and currently posted in Dhar district, and his colleague Jitendra Rajput, deployed in Gwalior district, have been arrested, said Rajan Singh Ahirwar, station house officer of Jahangirabad police station.

Sen has been booked on charges of rape and other offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The acts have also been invoked against Rajput, barring the sexual assault count, he added. Rajput allegedly had arranged a car to ferry the teenager and helped Sen commit the crime, Ahirwar said.

Sen, who was recently shifted to Dhar district from Bhopal, allegedly called the girl on the evening of July 22 using an acquaintance’s mobile phone to invite her to his son’s birthday party.

When the girl arrived near Lal Parade Ground around 6.30 p.m., the two policemen were waiting in a car with Rajput’s three-year-old son, the official said.

Sen gained the teenager’s trust and took her to a house in MP Nagar, where he raped her while Rajput monitored the premises outside with his son, the police official said.

The girl went home and informed her family, and a complaint was lodged. The police initially registered a 'Zero FIR' at the Kamala Nagar police station before transferring the case to the Jahangirabad police station for further investigation. A Zero FIR can be registered at any police station in India, regardless of where the crime took place or its jurisdiction.

“They were arrested on Thursday. We are going to produce them in court today,” Ahirwar said.