Chandigarh cops draw flak for violating POCSO Act

As per the complaint, the incident was reported on October 13, when two police officers of the Industrial Area Police Station, Sub-Inspector Gurcharan Singh including a woman constable, Harmeet Kaur took the minor girl (alleged victim) and the accused in one vehicle to the district court. The girl was being taken for recording her statements under Section 164 of the CrPC.

Neil Roberts, chairperson, CWC said, “The incident had come to light after one of our support members, who went with the victim to the court noticed it, and reported the matter. The girl was so intimidated by the presence of the accused, that she could not record her statement. We had then forwarded the complaint to the commission.”

Highlighting that it is in violation to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, chairperson, Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Devi Sirohi said, that as per the act, the police need to ensure that the child does not come in contact with the accused.

“The presence of the accused can be intimidating for the minor girl, which happened in this case. She could not give her statements. While, the police officers told us that it was done due to non-availability of another police vehicle at the time. But, we cannot allow such incidents to happen in the future,” said Sirohi.

The commission has also written to SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill to ensure that such lapse on part of the police authorities is not reported in the future. “We have written to the SSP to ensure that an advisory be issued to all police stations in the city to ensure the mandate of the act is followed,” she said.

ASP (East), Guriqbal Singh, said he was not aware of the case and would look into the matter.