HC seeks Delhi Police stand on child rights panel’s plea for reprobe into alleged rape, death of minor girl

The plea alleged that Delhi Police conducted a “shoddy, perfunctory and biased” investigation into the penetrative sexual assault and death of the minor girl child to save the culprits involved in the alleged crime and filed the Cancellation Report which was adopted by the trial court that closed the case on October 6, 2018.

According to the plea, the six-year-old victim complained of illness on January 29, 2018 at her school and was sent back home. When she was taken to Ganga Ram Hospital for treatment on February 1, 2018 the doctor observed injuries on her private parts and recorded an MLC (Medico Legal Case) report. The next day the girl died during treatment at the hospital. Her post-mortem examination conducted at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital noted external as well as internal injuries and opined that the cause and manner of death cannot be made certain without the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report. However, it stated that the possibility of sexual assault cannot be ruled out.

On February 3, 2018 an FIR for rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered at the Ranhola police station. Although the post-mortem report stated that sexual assault cannot be ruled out, the subsequent opinion of the doctor at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital stated that after perusing through the FSL report, the victim died due to natural cause and sexual assault was ruled out in the case.

Six days later, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights took “suo moto” cognizance of a news report on the case and initiated an inquiry issuing notice to the Station House Officer of Ranhola, directing him to investigate the matter and submit a report, including the FIR and MLC of the victim.

In September 2018, the investigation officer concerned filed a cancellation report in the case before the Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court under POCSO Act), Tis Hazari. On October 6, 2018 the judge without issuing notice to the complainant or family of the victim, accepted the Cancellation Report and closed the case.

The DCPCR in April 2019 wrote to the Director General of Health Services for constituting a medical board to ascertain the actual cause of death of the victim. Four months later, Maulana Azad Medical College constituted a medical board which found that the victim’s cause of death was due to “severe Sepsis with Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome as a result of complications of Rectovesical Fistula which is caused in a possible anal penetration”.

The child rights panel claimed that it sent various notices to the Ranhola Station House Officer, DCP Outer District, Delhi, and Joint Commissioner of Police, Western Range, Delhi, seeking proper investigation of the case in the light of the report of the medical board of Maulana Azad Medical College.

The plea claimed that it is highly improbable that the parents of the victim were not aware about the injuries suffered by their daughter as stated in the opinion of the medical board. “No history was given by the parents to the doctors at any point regarding the injuries suffered by the victim that leads to grave suspicion on the family members of the victim,” the plea stated.

Moreover, the plea claimed, the victim was not suffering from any prolonged illness and her class teacher stated that the victim was fit and had also participated in the annual event of the school on January 25, 2018, a few days prior to her death.

The plea alleged that the actions of the Delhi Police in the present case are antithetical to the concept of rule of law enshrined in the Constitution of India, including Article 21.