A Punjab Police head constable, Rakesh Kumar, has been suspended and booked after a 25-year-old woman alleged that she was sexually abused inside a lockup at Mundian police post in Ludhiana.
The woman in her complaint also alleged that the cop (Head Constable) threatened to implicate her husband in a false case if she dared to raise her voice or report the incident.
The woman in her police complaint filed on December 17, 2020, said that a friend of her husband named Karma, was a frequent visitor to their house. However, Karma’s relatives namely Pammi, Pooja, Binda and Mamta, started suspecting that she had developed some illicit relation with Karma.
She said that on December 3, when she was alone at her home, the four (Pammi, Pooja, Binda and Mamta), barged into her house and thrashed her badly. She alleged that they tore off her clothes and made a video of hers using their mobile phones. She alleged that despite that fact that she reported the incident to the police and registered a complaint on December 4, no action was taken.
The woman in her complaint further said that on December 5, the accused again thrashed her after trespassing into her home. “On December 6, the accused allegedly dragged me to the police post where I was physically assaulted”, she alleged, adding that during midnight, head constable Rakesh Kumar asked her to accompany him to the first floor of the police post on the pretext of questioning in front of women police personnel, however, there were no women personnel present.
She alleged that she was then raped. When asked why she didn't report the incident the next day and filed a complaint after 11 days, the woman said that she was scared and the accused cop had threatened her, therefore, after gathering courage, she finally decided to speak up.
Meanwhile, as per information, head constable has been booked under section 376-C (sexual intercourse by person in authority who abuses such position to induce or seduce any woman either in his custody) and other accused have been booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 354-B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) of the IPC.