Child's rape: HC 'shocked' over delay in arresting accused

Mumbai: Terming as "shocking" the delay in the arrest of two staff members of a school for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl despite prima facie evidence, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered two top officers of Mumbai police to supervise the probe and file an action taken report.

The court also expressed displeasure over the probe conducted so far and asked the police why it was reluctant to arrest the accused despite prima facie evidence that the offence of rape and sexual abuse had been committed.

A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi said the failure to arrest the accused, six months after the complaint was lodged, made it apparent that the police was trying to "shield" them. It directed the assistant commissioner of police under whose charge is the Meghwadi police station, which is probing the incident, to head the investigation, and the deputy commissioner of police of the zone concerned to supervise the probe and file an action taken report.