Police cautioned against hasty action on false sexual harassment complaints

Police cautioned against hasty action on false sexual harassment complaints

http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Police-cautioned-against-hasty-action-on-false-sexual-harassment-complaints.html

CHANDIGARH: Punjab police has asked its field staff to guard against registration of false complaints of kidnapping, abduction, rape, criminal intimidation, etc. by individuals on the basis of misrepresented and distorted facts against rivals to settle old scores.

Speaking to the media, additional director general of police (crime) Jasminder Singh said on Wednesday, “The general outcry against the cases of sexual assault in women and children and the directions to the police to carry out fair, transparent and expeditious investigation into all such cases has led to a spurt in registration of false complaints. While it is imperative to ensure prompt registration of such cases and expeditious and vigorous investigation in all such cases of sexual assault and violence, at the same time, it is incumbent on the district police chiefs to ensure that innocent persons are not booked or harassed merely on the basis of false allegations and by misrepresentation and distortion of facts. The officers must appreciate that charges of rape and abduction are serious and stigmatizing in nature, and can, therefore, cause serious and lasting damage to the reputation of the individual and his family in the society.”

He said, “In view of this, COPs and SSPs are advised to ensure fair, transparent and expeditious investigations in all such cases in the interest of justice. A preliminary scrutiny and reading of FIRs
registered in the cases would reveal that these cases need to be investigated through police officers of SP rank before taking any hasty and precipitate action in the matter.”

He said that during the past fortnight alone as many as 10 such cases have been reported from different parts of the state, which have been found to be false. He gave details of these cases as follows:

Majitha: Complainant, an adult, married one Gurcharan Singh and approached High Court for protection as her family was against the union. The complainant suspected Gurcharan Singh of having an illicit affair with his aunt and she filed a false complaint of rape against her husband.

Majitha: Complainant had a relationship with one Manjit Singh, but got married elsewhere. After a few months of living with her husband, she returned to her village and started pestering Manjit Singh to marry her. When he refused, she concocted a false story that she had been abducted by Manjit Singh and one more person.

Fazilka: Complainant had a relationship with one Om Prakash and got married to him in a temple against her father’s wishes. The father of the complainant got her to register a false case against Om Prakash as well as his brother’s wife and another person in an abduction case, which turned out to be false.

Fazilka: Complainant stated that she had been raped by one Sardool Singh, who, in turn, produced evidence that he had married her only a few days back and that they could not pull on well together and that was the reason for the false complaint.

Amritsar: Complainant had been in a long-term relationship with one Milan Kapoor and wanted to get married with him. However, Kapoor found out that she had relations with other men as well and declined her marriage proposal. Thereafter, she got a false case of rape registered against him.

Ludhiana: Complainant and the accused got engaged in May and had consensual sex on a number of occasions. Following this, the accused did not want to get married to her and she got a false case of rape
registered against him.

Ludhiana (rural): Complainant had a relationship with one Gurpreet Singh and she went by bus to meet him in Mullanpur. After her father caught the accused along with the complainant, she got a false case of abduction registered against the accused on the behest of her father.

Ferozepur: Complainant had an illicit affair with the accused and when her husband came to know of this, she got a false case of rape registered against him.

Bathinda: Complainant was under heavy debt of the accused and therefore concocted a story that the accused raped her during a village fair.

Tarn Taran: Complainant entered into a relationship with a truck driver and went with him to Chennai. She bore his child two years ago, but upon returning to Punjab the family of the accused refused to accept her. She concocted a story that she had been threatened, abducted and raped by the accused.