THE CASE
>> A 15-year-old girl ends life by consuming rat poison in 2006
>> Police fail to record her statement after she is shifted to GMC
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COURT OBSERVATIONS
1) We feel that we will be failing in our duty, if we take no cognizance of the shoddy and insensitive investigation carried out in this unfortunate case
2) There is no explanation as to why any Magistrate, whether Executive or Judicial, was not involved in the process of ascertaining whether the minor victim girl was willing to give a statement
3) There should be a serious inquiry into the lapses in this matter and ultimately, if any of the police officials involved are found to have misconducted themselves, then some suitable action taken
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PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has yet again rapped the Goa Police for shoddy investigation, this time into the case of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide by consuming rat poison. The HC has asked the Director General of Police (DGP) to conduct inquiries and submit a compliance report by March next year into the action taken against the erring police officials.
Hearing an appeal against the acquittal of a family for illegally keeping an unrelated minor child in their custody and mistreating her and driving her to suicide, the High Court was livid that the Police failed to record the victim’s statement after she was shifted to Goa Medical College having consumed poison and despite the doctor indicating that she was fit to give a statement. She later passed away without her statement being recorded.
The record indicated that the PI of Calangute Police Station did not record the statement of the minor victim girl on 12.12.2006, or for that matter, on any day thereafter until the minor victim girl succumbed and expired on 14.12.2006. The only explanation given by PI Narayan Chimulkar (PW.24) in his deposition was that the girl refused to give her statement.
“Head Constable Suryakant Shetye, who is alleged to have visited the GMC to record the statement of the minor victim girl, has not even been examined by the prosecution… no records have been produced by the prosecution that Shetye had indeed visited the GMC and had inquired with the minor victim girl as to whether she was willing to give the statement or not. There is no explanation as to why any Magistrate, whether Executive orJudicial, was not involved in the process of ascertaining whether the minor victim girl was willing to give a statement and, if so, for record of such a vital statement,” the High Court noted.
“There is absolutely no explanation forthcoming from the prosecution for such a vital lapse in the investigations,” the High Court noted adding that the statement of the minor victim girl was crucial either way either supporting the contention of the prosecution about the harassment and consequently, abetment of suicide, or might have also exonerated the accused persons or pointed out to the nvolvement of some other persons.
“We feel that we will be failing in our duty, if we take no cognizance of the shoddy and insensitive investigation carried out in this unfortunate case. We feel that the Director General of Police (DGP) must order or hold an enquiry into this matter because off late, we are coming across cases of shoddy and insensitive investigations particularly, in matters involving sexual offences against women and children,” the High Court said.
Off late, we noticed that there is a certain element of casualness, insensitivity and at times, even apathy in such investigations, when in fact, utmost vigilance and sensitivity is the need of the hour if we are to protect our children's future. If lapses in investigation, as have taken place in this matter are left unprobed,there is real danger of repetition of such lapses. There is real danger of investigating agencies gaining an impression that this is tolerable or that this is the new normal,” the judges noted.
“As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult for the Courts to convict or sustain the conviction of perpetrators of such crimes,” the High Court said.
“There should be a serious inquiry into the lapses in this matter and ultimately, if any of the police officials involved are found to have misconducted themselves, then some suitable action is taken against them in accordance with law. We are constrained to direct holding of such inquiries because we find that the investigations in this matter have been quite shoddy and even insensitive,”
The High Court also noted other lapses in the investigation pointing out that though the child died on 14.12.2006 the charge-sheet was filed on 26.11.2009 after about three years taking into account the state of investigation. “This delay, which is prima facie inordinate requires to be probed into,” the court said.
“Such enquiry must be held and concluded as expeditiously as possible and in any case within a period of six months from today. We have deliberately granted additional time to the DGP to complete such an inquiry taking into consideration the current pandemic situation. On conclusion of such an inquiry,the compliance report will have to be filed in this Court on or before 31.03.2021,” the Court noted.
The DGP, must now take emergent steps to see that proper investigations are carried out in cases involving assaults, whether sexual or otherwise, on children. The DGP will also have to take steps to see that the prosecutions against the perpetrators of crimes against the minor children do not fail on account of shoddy and insensitive investigation. The DGP, should take cognizance of the provisions of Goa Children's Act, 2003, which provides that the State shall carry out child sensitisation programmes for police officers at all levels,” the Court noted.
