Ahmedabad gangrape survivor's father seeks CBI probe: Gujarat High Court seeks government view

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Monday sought the state government’s view on a petition filed by a gangrape survivor’s father, seeking that the probe into the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other competent investigating agency. [caption id=“attachment_4416891” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Gujarat High Court. Image courtesy: gujarathighcourt.nic.in[/caption] The court asked the state government to make its stand clear by 2:30 pm Tuesday. The court of Justice RP Dholaria said the offence was very serious and questioned the police for not recording the survivor’s statement, as per Supreme Court guidelines, under Section 164 of the CrPC within 24 hours of the FIR being filed. In a complaint lodged at the Satellite police station on 28 June, a 22-year-old woman had claimed that four unidentified persons had abducted her in an SUV from the Nehrunagar area of the city in March and two of them had raped her and filmed the act to blackmail her. The woman had also stated that she was abducted again in the same SUV by three of the four accused on the night of 27 June from the Maninagar area and molested, before she was allowed to go. The father of the survivor approached the high court, seeking that the case be transferred to the CBI or any other competent investigating agency. In the petition, he alleged that instead of taking action against the accused, the police were forcing the survivor to modify her complaint and treating her as if she had committed a serious offence. The petitioner further claimed that the police had not followed an apex court guideline, which mandated that a rape survivor’s statement was required to be recorded before a magistrate within 24 hours of receiving the complaint. He alleged that the survivor’s statement was not recorded even after four days had passed since the FIR was lodged. The survivor had on Sunday alleged that the police officer investigating the case was threatening her and putting pressure on her to change her complaint. The police have booked seven persons, including two women and the survivor’s boyfriend, on charges of rape and abduction.