SHO, woman SI suspended over 'refusal' to register rape complaint

Two police personnel, including a woman sub-inspector, have been suspended and booked for allegedly not registering a rape victim's complaint and forcing her to work out a compromise with the accused, Palwal SP Waseem Akram said on Thursday.

The two police personnel are SHO Santosh Kumar and SI Anju Devi.

"A departmental inquiry has also been initiated against them. The complaint has now been lodged and on its basis, a case registered against three others," the SP said.

In her complaint, the34-year-old woman said that on September 16 she had gone to a shop to purchase school bags for her children where a salesman told her to go to the basement to choose the product.

When she reached the basement, she was overpowered by the accused and sexually assaulted, police said, adding she later named three people allegedly involved in the incident.

When she approached the SHO, he allegedly did not register the FIR even a day after the incident and instead forced her to work out a compromise with the three accused, the SP said.

The SHO sent her to the women police station where SI Anju Devi too allegedly tried to prevent her from lodging the FIR, Akram said, adding further investigations were underway and the rape accused would be nabbed soon.