PILIBHIT: Cops on Saturday booked a male constable posted at the election cell at a police station in Pilibhit for allegedly raping a woman constable repeatedly for roughly two-and-a-half years on the pretext of marrying her. Three members of the accused’s family have also been booked for allegedly intimidating the survivor.
As per the complainant, the accused was set to marry another woman in Baghpat on April 24. She urged the superintendent of police to stop his marriage, apart from ensuring a stringent punitive action in the matter. The survivor, aged around 28 years, stated in her complaint that she was a lady constable of the 2019 batch and got her posting in the same year at the police station. She met the male constable, following which they "became close to each other", she said.
She alleged that the accused proposed to marry her, which she declined as her elder brother was to be married first. Despite her reluctance, the man had physical relations with her on a commitment that he would wait to marry her until the marriage of her elder brother.
She said that she was eventually transferred to the district headquarters after a year and began living in a rented flat. There, the accused continued to visit her and outrage her modesty, she alleged. However, he began to retract his commitment when her elder brother was married about 6 months ago. She came to know through her sources that the constable had taken leave on April 13 and had left for his home in Baghpat to marry another girl, she alleged.
The SHO said that the male constable and his three family members were booked under sections 376 ((2)(a) (committing rape, being a police officer, within the limits of the police station to which he is appointed), 417 (cheating), and 506 (criminal intimidation). The ASP said that the police were "not empowered" to stop the marriage of the accused but to ensure the legal action against him in accordance with the FIR.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
