Twist in the tale
SHILLONG: The East Khasi Hills district police on Thursday ruled out the alleged abduction and gang rape of a minor by four masked men by saying it was a “creation” of the victim out of fear.
However, the driver of the bus was held under POCSO Act for sexual assault of the girl.
The earlier report was that the 14-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of people in the city on the night of January 29.
“On the evening of January 30, the family members gave a statement to the police that the entire narrative of the victim being kidnapped and gang-raped was false. The girl made up the story before her family members out of fear,” East Khasi Hills SP Claudia A Lyngwa told reporters after briefing the Assembly Committee on Women Empowerment on the status of the investigation of the case.
The Committee had summoned the SP along with the officials of the Health department to shed light on the alleged abduction and rape of the minor.
Lyngwa said the question of consensual sex does not arise since the victim is only 14.
She also informed that the police have prayed to the court that the sections mentioned in the first FIR submitted by the girl’s mother stating that the victim was kidnapped and gang-raped need to be deleted.
“The investigation will just be as per various sections of the POCSO Act. The driver of the bus was arrested for having sexual relationship with the minor girl,” Lyngwa said.
Informing that the victim and the bus driver were in a relationship, the SP said that the girl inflicted the cuts and bruises upon herself as she was too scared.
Earlier, the Assembly committee chairperson, Ampareen Lyngdoh, ruled out gang rape.
“The narrative of this sensitive case needs to change immediately so that the public should know the truth. We appreciate the Ganesh Das Hospital authorities for not disclosing any information to the media or NGOs about this case. The identity of the child has to be protected,” Ampareen said.
She also congratulated the SP and her team for the exceptional effort put in to ensure that some clarity on the case is shared with the committee.
“We want to give an assurance that the matter is being tackled by both the medical officials as well as the police,” Ampareen said.
Replying to a question as to what made the committee change its stand when it had earlier questioned the lack of seriousness on the part of the police to investigate the case, Ampareen said that everything was based on hearsay prior to the meeting.
“We called the concerned officials to get clarity on the matter. We are not investigators or medical experts. We are just a committee to seek clarity on the information which we have received,” she said.
Replying to a question about the claim made by the family members that the doctors of Ganesh Das Hospital had stated it was a consensual sexual act, Ampareen said this was an allegation made by the family members.
“The doctors have given clarity on the matter and also briefed on the measures which were taken for the safety of child. We are satisfied with the briefing given to us in this case. We will now prepare our report accordingly,” she added.
The Chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Meena Kharkongor said that necessary counselling is being given to the 14-year-old girl after it was found that her kidnap and rape story is false.
The driver who is the accused in the case is 25 years old.
“It is not rape but the person has enticed her. He should have understood the consequences of going around with a 14-year-old girl. But people should not be judgmental whether it is right or wrong and let us go by the procedure, ultimately it is the courts to determine”, she said.
Kharkongor also stressed that parents are to guide their children well in the right path.