Bulgarian woman slams cops, alleges inaction in rape case against Rajiv Modi
The Gujarat High Court in December had ordered a probe and had set aside the magistrate court’s order refusing to direct a probe into the allegations
4 min read
Modi and Mathew have been charged with rape, criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty, and criminal intimidation under the relevant IPC provisions (Express Photo) Days after police told a court that witnesses did not support the rape allegations by a Bulgarian woman against Cadila Pharmaceuticals chairman and managing director Rajiv Modi and another employee, the complainant Tuesday alleged the police were “protecting” the accused. She added that charges of human trafficking were dropped despite the allegation in her original complaint.
Asserting that she will continue to “pursue the case”, the woman stressed the claims that police tried to reach out to her and she was incommunicado “are all lies”. She also alleged there was an attempt to attack her on the evening of January 23 when she was purportedly “chased by goons” at a mall in Ahmedabad. The complainant said she had then left India briefly to “appeal for the safety of my family members at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva”. She further said she would file an FIR for the alleged incident.
Meanwhile, the complainant has now been called by police to record her statement Wednesday in a departmental inquiry being conducted against ACP Himala Joshi for initial inaction on her complaint in April 2023.
Seeking a CBI probe into the investigation, the complainant had filed a petition at the Supreme Court but the petition was withdrawn after the police filed an A-summary report in a court in Ahmedabad on February 20 after notifying the complainant of the same a day before. An A-summary report suggests that while allegations exist, the police investigation has not resulted in sufficient evidence to support the case to commit it to trial or has not found the accused in the case.
The complainant on Tuesday also questioned police over naming only two as accused in the case – Modi and another Cadila employee Johnson Mathew. She said she had named six accused in her complaint.
The complainant and her counsel, advocate Rajeshkumar Mishra, also added that several possible witnesses were not examined by the police, including the then POSH Committee chairperson when the alleged incident happened. “There are no witnesses they (police) are calling. Many employees have been removed and the new employees who have replaced them do not know about the incident. The complainant’s detailed statement under CrPC section 164 was taken, medical tests were done and yet an A-summary report was filed,” added Mishra. Mishra added they have not approached the Bulgarian embassy in India for assistance.
A senior official involved with the probe, requesting anonymity, did not comment on the allegations against the police by the complainant but added that the A-summary report has been filed following the completion of the police investigation and that “the matter is now before the court”. The official added that the complainant has also been summoned to appear before the police on Wednesday to record her statement in the departmental inquiry that is being conducted against Mahila police station ACP Himala Joshi.
The woman had filed a rape complaint in April last year. Months later, in July, she had approached an Ahmedabad rural magistrate court with a private complaint making allegations of rape, criminal assault, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation against Modi and others.
She was employed as a flight attendant and a personal assistant for the CMD in August 2022 and was allegedly raped and sexually harassed by Modi during her employment.
The Gujarat High Court in December had ordered a probe and had set aside the magistrate court’s order refusing to direct a probe into the allegations. An FIR was filed on December 31. Modi had appeared before the police on February 15. The case is due to be taken up by an Ahmedabad magistrate court on March 2.
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