The Madhya Pradesh high court asked the state government to submit an action taken report on a Bhopal gang-rape case, terming the police’s action and subsequent goof-up in medical examination of the victim as “tragedy of errors.”
The high court bench comprising chief justice Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Vijay Shukla pulled up the state government for “delay” in filing the FIR and “carelessness” in the medical examination of the 19-year-old victim.
The civil services aspirant was raped allegedly by four rag-pickers close to the government railway police’s Habibganj station in the state capital on October 31.
Fighting over police jurisdiction delayed the filing of complaint.
The initial medical report, prepared after the woman was examined on November 1, at the Sultania Zanana Hospital said the “sex was consensual” as per the “accused.”
The matter came up for hearing as chief justice had taken a suo moto cognisance of a Hindustan Times report titled, “Bhopal gang-rape: Junked medical report said sex was consensual, Congress alleges cover-up”.
Advocate general Purushendra Kaurav informed the court that five police personnel and two doctors had been placed under suspension. A chargesheet in the rape case would be filed in the next 15 days.
A separate chargesheet against police personnel and the doctors concerned would also be filed within the time frame.
Placing the chain of events before the court, the advocate general said the government wouldn’t spare anyone in the case and an awareness programme would be launched to sensitise police personnel about crimes against women.
The matter was placed for the next hearing on November 27, 2017.
Talking to the Hindustan Times, the advocate general said they apprised the court that the error in the medical examination report was inadvertent and was caused due to heavy workload on the doctor concerned.
There was no question of a ‘consent’ in a rape case and since the ‘accused’ were not in the scene during preparation of the medical examination report, the word ‘accused’ crept in the report inadvertently instead of ‘victim.’
The delay and the goof-up caused widespread anger in the state.
