A 37-year-old woman, who had been raped by two men earlier this year, had gone to the investigating officer (IO) at Rampur's Ganj police station for help. She said her rapists are roaming around freely and she fears for her life. She begged for her tormentors to be arrested.
The officer instead allegedly asked her to first have sex with him before he takes action against the accused.
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When the woman refused, there was another shock waiting for her. The sub-inspector, Jai Prakash Singh, filed a closure report. Helpless and with nowhere to go, she then approached the officer again, only this time recording her conversations with him. TOI has a copy of the recording. Armed with evidence, she went to the SP on Wednesday, who has now ordered an inquiry against the IO.
Additional superintendent of police Sudha Singh told TOI: "Ganj station officer has been asked to investigate the matter against the SI and submit a report."
According to police, the woman was gang-raped by two men, one of whom was known to her, on the night of February 12 when she had gone to visit a relative and was on her way back to Rampur city. The two offered her a lift, dropped her home and later gang-raped her at gunpoint when they found she was alone in the house.
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Even then, police had first refused to lodge an FIR. It was only when she approached a local court a week later that a case was registered.
On February 21, two persons, identified as 55-year-old Ameer Ahmad and 45-year-old Sattar Ahmad, were booked under IPC's sections 376 (D) (gangrape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation). She also recorded her statement before a magistrate.
The rape survivor told TOI, "My ordeal began soon afterwards. Whenever I approached SI Jai Prakash Singh seeking arrest of the accused, he would say he first wanted to have sex with me. He even called up on my mobile phone and invited me to visit him in his room alone. When I turned him down, he filed a closure report in the case a fortnight ago."
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She added, "He would ask about the rape sequence time and again, posing objectionable questions on the details. Then he told me, 'Tum pahley meri hasrat puri karo, tab mulzim pakday jayenge' (First you fulfill my desire, I will then arrest the accused)."
When it became unbearable, she began to secretly record his conversations and finally handed over a CD to the SP.
Rampur superintendent of police Vipin Tada said, "Prima facie, the voice in the audio clip doesn't match with that of the SI. But will investigate her charges thoroughly."