Pune Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla, who has been appointed as the special woman officer in the Kopardi gangrape case inquiry, today met the family members of the victim in Ahmednagar district and assured that charge sheet against the accused will be filed within a month.
Chief of the Maharashtra Women's Commission, Vijaya Rahatkar, also visited Kopardi village along with professional counsellors to counsel the village girls, who, she said, are scared of going to school as a result of the incident.
The 15-year-old girl was brutally gangraped by three men, who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before throttling her in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district last week. The brutal gangrape and murder of the girl has rocked both the Houses of Maharashtra Legislature and sparked protests in parts of the state.
Talking to PTI over phone from Ahmednagar, Shukla said, "The entire incident is very unfortunate. I met and heard the victim's family and the villagers. I have instructed the Superintendent of Police (Ahmednagar police) to investigate the case and file the charge sheet within 30 days."
She said the government has already appointed Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the case, which will be tried in a fast track court, so that the accused are punished at the earliest.
"As a confidence building measure, I visited the school and told the girls not to panic. I also shared my contact numbers with them and asked the people in the village to download the 'Pratisaad' app for women safety. I ensured them that they would get police's assistance whenever required," she added.
She said that following the incident, there is a demand to set up a police chowkie in the village. "Therefore, a police facilitation centre will be set up in the village," she said.
After meeting the victim's family, she also interacted with people in the village.
Meanwhile, Rahatkar said, "After the incident, the girls are scared of going to school as they have to travel to the neighbouring village to attend the secondary level school."
"Today, we went there with professional counsellors and counseled them not to be scared. A special bus service will be started for students from tomorrow so that they can go to the school," she said.
