HC seeks police reply for not registering a gangrape case

The Delhi High Court today sought a response from the city government and police for the probe agency's failure to register an FIR on the charge of gangrape after a teenaged girl from West Bengal was rescued from a brothel earlier this month.
A division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice Jayant Nath sought police reply by July 10 while taking suo motu cognizance of a report sent by the magistrate before whom the girl was produced on May 11.
The court had sought the magistrate's report after reading a news report in a national daily which said police had even allowed alleged culprits, abductors and brothel owners, to intimidate the victim during her court's appearance.

"Girls who are rescued from the brothel could not reveal the truth to the court as they (brothel owners, abductors) were present in the court.... In this case, they even threatened the girl sitting in the court room to bring her back into the business," the bench said and appointed advocate Zubeda Begum as amicus curiae to assist the court in the case.
"Police even did not file the FIR on the charge of gangrape... We want guidelines in this regards....," the bench, which had sought a report from the magistrate where the girl was produced, said.
As per the media report, a 19-year-old girl was rescued on May 9 by the police from a brothel at G B Road and police did not deem it fit to register a gang-rape case.

"Rather, it allowed her rapists, abductors and brothel owners to intimidate her during her court presence. And while her father has come from South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal to take his youngest daughter back, she was sent to Nari Niketan instead," the report said.