Mathura: The Uttar Pradesh police department is astir over an FIR lodged on a woman constable’s complaint that a sub-inspector and his friend allegedly raped her, recorded the act and blackmailed her.
In the FIR, accessed by ThePrint, the constable names sub-inspector Ravikant Goswami, a resident of UP’s Baghpat, and his friend Dikshant Sharma as the perpetrators.
The constable, a resident of Mathura posted in Jhansi, has alleged in her complaint that in the first instance, Goswami raped her at a Mathura farmhouse by giving her intoxicants, while he and his friend later assaulted her together in Moradabad.
According to the complaint, the first incident is of 17 February, 2023. Goswami, posted in Jhansi’s Chirgaon police station, had called her to a farmhouse in Mathura. When she reached there, he offered her alcohol, which she consumed and became unconscious. He then raped her and recorded the act, states the FIR.
The complaint adds that the sub-inspector subsequently threatened to circulate the video and proceeded to blackmail the constable. Threatening that he would harm her family, he forced physical relations with the constable several times, it states.
Then, on 22 June, 2023, Goswami and Sharma allegedly called the constable to a hotel in Moradabad and raped her after mixing intoxicants in her juice. They also made a video, according to the FIR.
It further alleges that on 12 January this year, when the constable went to Jhansi to see a doctor, Goswami beat her up for not answering his phone call. She suffered a fracture in her finger in this assault.
The constable states that she finally mustered up the courage to report her ordeal this week and filed a complaint at Jamuna Par police station in Mathura. The FIR was lodged under sections relating to gangrape, causing hurt with intent to commit an offence, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult and criminal intimidation.
Jamuna Par police station in-charge Ajay Kishore said the FIR had been registered against Ravikant Goswami and his friend on the complaint of the woman constable.
“Serious allegations have been made by the constable. An FIR has been registered. The matter is being investigated and necessary action will be taken thereafter,” he told ThePrint.
Senior UP police officers said they are taking the matter seriously and that such incidents tarnish the image of the police and raise questions about the safety of women employees. However, none were willing to comment on record on the matter.
Women’s organisations and rights groups have started raising their voice against the incident, on social media and otherwise.
Social activist and Dalit leader Rajkumar Nagrath told ThePrint that rising incidents of such crimes against women in a department like the police not only raise questions on law and order, but also show how weak the system of departmental monitoring and accountability is.
“To ensure that the victim gets justice soon, it is necessary that not only are the accused arrested, but concrete and structural changes are made for women’s safety within the police department,” he said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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