Swati Maliwal writes to CM Yogi over 'police inaction' in gang-rape case

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath complaining about police inaction in the alleged gang rape of a woman in the state.

Maliwal said the DCW received a complaint from a victim of gang rape and sexual assault and "the bestiality and the barbarity involved in the rape and the insensitivity of the state police to arrest the accused" has urged her to write the letter.

She said the 21-year-old survivor was sold by her father to a 65-year-old private tutor for Rs 40,000 at the age of 12 and until the age of 17, she was raped in Chandpur (Bijnor). Later she was shifted to another place in Bijnor.

Four men took turns to rape the girl. She tried to escape from their clutches a number of times but got caught by her abductors each time. She was physically assaulted for her attempt to escape, followed by an act of extreme revengeful sexual abuse as a form of punishment, Maliwal said.

The accused even abused and burnt the woman's minor daughter with cigarettes. In her FIR, the survivor has alleged that one of the accused is a serial rapist and has killed a 19-year-old woman when she tried to escape his brutality, Maliwal said.

The woman underwent an unimaginable form of oppression and torture for a decade. Eventually, she somehow managed to escape and sought police assistance, but they refused to take her complaint. She submitted five written complaints at Chandpur police station but each time the police snubbed her and ignored her pleas.

"In light of this extreme horrendous incident, the Delhi Commission for Women requests you to urgently look into the matter and take action immediately against the perpetrators and deliver justice to the survivor," Maliwal said.

"You are also requested to ensure the urgent release of victim compensation as the woman does not hail from a financially sound background. Further, an inquiry should be conducted into the role of police in the matter and strictest action should be taken against those found guilty," she said in the letter to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Maliwal claimed that the DCW receives complaints from Uttar Pradesh every other day about atrocities against women and girls.

"The Commission requests you to bring about immediate and effective change in the system to ensure that such dreadful crimes are not repeated," she added.