The Bombay High Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Maharashtra Police for not taking seriously the probe in a sexual abuse case of two minor girls, which took place at a school in Badlapur area of Thane last week.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter on the basis of newspaper reports, the Division Bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Pk Chavan observed that had the police been sensitised, this would not have happened.
The Bench said several cases go unreported, but these girls filed a complaint. It needed huge courage to speak about all this.
Police has not played its role the way it was supposed to do, noted the High Court, adding that it was also ‘appalled’ by the fact that Badlapur Police did not take any efforts to record the statement of the second survivor, either under Section 161 or 164.
Questioning the delay in registration of the case, the Bench observed that it discouraged people from reporting such incidents to police.
It said the first thing for the police to do in such cases involving minors was to register an FIR. However, in the present case, the family was made to wait for hours.
The Bench said that people should not lose faith in public. They should not come out on the streets to lodge an FIR. The motto of the Maharashtra Police was to protect the good and restrain the wicked. It added that the police force should be sensitised on how to handle cases involving sexual offences.
Appearing for the State of Maharashtra, Advocate General Birendra Saraf apprised the Court that the officers responsible for the lapses have been suspended, while a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case.
He assured the Court that the accused in the case were arrested and that everything would be done speedily.
The High Court asked the counsel whether provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been complied with. It also perused the case diary and the copy of the FIR.
Saraf said the statements of the girls have been recorded and their medical examination has also been conducted.
The Bench asked the counsel whether provisions of the POCSO Act have been invoked against the school authorities.
The law officer said that action would be taken against the school authorities now.
The High Court observed that it should have been done at the earliest. It further stressed on the need to hold counselling for the girls and asked whether this has been done.
Saraf sought time to inform the Court about it.
The High Court further questioned why there was no mention of the second victim in the FIR, and why there was a delay in recording her statements.
AG Saraf responded that he did not want to submit anything casually, adding that he would apprise the Court about the latest developments in the case, including the SIT review, on Monday.
The Bench directed the State to take action against the school authorities for not reporting the crime. It also sought an explanation for delay in recording the second victim’s statement.
Observing that the statement of the father of one of the victims was recorded only today after the High Court initiated the suo motu case, the Bench asked, how could the police take it so lightly.
The High Court directed that all case-related files and other documents should be placed on record, and listed the matter for further hearing on August 27.
As per media reports, two 4-year-old girl students were molested by a housekeeping personnel at the school’s restroom on August 13.
The parents reported the incident to police on August 16. However, the First Information Report (FIR) was filed only 11 hours after their complaint.
Police arrested one Akshay Shinde, a 23-year-old school attendant in the case on August 17. He has been sent to police custody by the local court till August 26.