A teenage girl has filed a rape and threat complaint against five police constables here, resulting in the arrest of four of them. The fifth policeman is absconding.
According to media reports, the victim was going to commit suicide when she narrated her ordeal to her brother, who then approached a local leader to seek help.
The identified four policemen include constables Akshay, Sunil, Jagtar and Himmat Singh, while the fifth accused, who is on the run, is still unidentified.
Police said an FIR has been filed against the accused and further investigations were underway.
" A girl came and reported that a few men did something wrong with her. The lady sub-inspector Usha Rani has recorded her statement and has filed an FIR under Section 376, 354 A and under the POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. We have sent the girl for medical examination and the accused will be arrested," said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ashish Kapoor.
According to sources, three months back the victim had called the police following a dispute with a relative.
The victim alleged that one of the constables, who had answered her call, started harassing her on the pretext of recording her statement.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukhchain Singh Gill assured that legal action would be taken against the accused.
"The names of four accused have been identified and one is unknown and we are taking legal action against them. The four have been suspended. We will take departmental action apart from legal action against them," said Gill.
Crowd of people protested outside a government hospital where two of the accused were brought for medical examination.
The irate protesters raised anti-police slogans and demanded a stringent punishment for the accused.
Indian girls and women face a plethora of threats. These include sexual and domestic violence, dowry-related deaths, crimes in the name of honour, witch-branding, acid attacks, female foeticide, early marriage and human trafficking.
The December 16 gang rape in 2012 led to the introduction of tougher rape laws in March, and for the first time open conversation about gender crime in television debates and on social media.
The new law included a minimum 20-year prison sentence for rape and, in the event the victim dies or reduced to a "vegetative" state, death penalty.
The case turned a global spotlight on the treatment of women in India, where police say a rape is reported every 20 minutes.
According to latest figures from the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 228,650 reported crimes committed against women in 2011, an increase of seven percent from 2010.
