NHRC notice to Haryana govt, DGP over rape victim's 'suicide' at police station

The NHRC issued notices to the Haryana government and the state police chief on Wednesday over reports of a rape victim allegedly committing suicide at a police station in Yamunanagar. In the notices, the rights panel has flagged that the "apparent insensitivity and lackadaisical attitude on part of the police personnel is a grave concern".

"The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that a woman committed suicide at Police Station Jathlana, Yamunanagar, Haryana, alleging police inaction in her rape case," it said in a statement. The commission has issued notices to the chief secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) of Haryana, seeking a detailed report in six weeks.

The commission has directed the DGP to apprise it of the action taken against "the delinquent police personnel", the statement said. "The NHRC has directed the chief secretary to look into the vulnerability of the family of the deceased and protection and financial help, if not already given to them, be provided by the state to the victim's family," it added.

The rights panel has also asked whether the police personnel at different levels were trained to handle such sensitive cases with a "more human touch", the statement said. The commission has observed that the content of the news reports, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victim and indicates gross negligence on the part of the police personnel.

According to media reports published on Wednesday, the victim had got tired of visiting the police station again and again, and justice was being "denied to her by the authorities" of Jathlana Police Station in Yamunanagar, and she finally "committed suicide", the NHRC said. "Her family members have made serious allegations against the sub-inspector and the police station in-charge, and have demanded their suspension with immediate effect," the rights panel said, quoting from the reports.

The father of the victim, in a police complaint, has said his daughter got married in 2016 but did not give birth to a child and thus, there were regular altercations in the family, according to the reports. Some months ago, when the woman came to her maternal house in her village, some fellow villagers, allegedly on the pretext of helping her with the divorce formalities and also on the promise of getting her a job, called her to a place and then gave her a lift in a car, took her to the Jagadhar bus stand and gave her "juice having sedatives", the statement said.

According to the reports, the accused kept the victim in Delhi, Lucknow and Dehradun for three-four months and during this time, she was "raped and obscene videos were also made", the rights panel said. The victim somehow managed to free herself from their captivity and after returning home, narrated her ordeal to the family members, it added.

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