Minister who moved human rights panel is ‘shocked’

The PHRC chairman Justice Jagdish Bhalla,when contacted,said they have taken cognisance of the case and issued notices to the police. “We are waiting for the response of the police as to what action has been taken in the case. We will then proceed as per the law,” he said.

According to the legal experts,rape is a cognizable offence and hence the accused can be arrested without a warrant. It also cannot be compounded by which means it cannot be compromised by the parties to the dispute without the permission of a court. “Even if the victim has withdrawn the complaint,as is being now said by the police,they will have to register a case against the victim’s family and prove how it (the rape complaint lodged by the victim’s kin) was a fraud,” a senior lawyer said.

Notably,Inspector General of Police (IGP),Border,Amritsar zone,IPS Sahota had last week said that the accused was absconding. “The investigations are still on. We can arrest him on the basis of the FIR but he is absconding. We are raiding all possible hideouts of the accused,” Sahota had said on June 30.