No proof to confirm Dalit girl's rape: Police
New Delhi: Delhi Police has told a court here that no evidence could be collected so far to confirm whether the nine-year-old Dalit girl was raped before allegedly being killed near Delhi Cantonment in south-west Delhi earlier this month — although it added that disclosure statements revealed that the local priest, Radhey Shyam and employee Kuldeep Singh had raped and killed the victim.
The remaining accused persons — Salim Ahmad and Laxmi Narayan, both employees at the crematorium — had helped them in trying to cremate the deceased minor, the IO told the court.
The IO has further admitted that neither any statement of any eye witness nor any other evidence, including medical or scientific could be collected so far to confirm as to whether the victim was raped or not.
He has further submitted that at this stage, he cannot conclusively say as to whether the victim child was raped or not, the court noted in the order passed on August 12. Disclosure statements of the accused persons before police, unless supported by other evidence, is not admissible under law.
Special Judge Ashutosh Kumar, meanwhile, awarded Rs 2.5 lakh as interim relief to the mother of the child for the loss of her daughter's life.
The court, however, did not grant further interim relief on the additional ground of the alleged rape of the victim, in view of the submissions of the IO and in view of the fact that the investigating agency itself is not sure as to whether the victim was raped or not, the interim compensation qua the same is not allowed at this stage.
The judge granted the liberty to the parties concerned to move a fresh application regarding compensation for rape, in case the investigating agency collects further material or comes to the conclusion that the child was raped.
As per the government scheme, the maximum compensation awardable in case of loss of life is Rs 10 lakh. The court granted 25 per cent of the compensation amount as interim relief. The court, meanwhile, sent the four accused, who were all known to the girl's mother, to 14-day judicial custody.
