Murthal rapes happened, find the culprits says Punjab High court

The Punjab High court came down heavily on the Haryana state government for refusing to accept that many rapes had occurred during the Jat agitation last February in the Murthal highway to Delhi inspite of evidence. It went on to say that the state government was trying to keep it under wraps.

Attempt to “sanitise” the investigation

The court also criticised the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Haryana government to probe the alleged Murthal gangrapes. The bench, comprising justices SS Saron and Darshan Singh, said two different statements provided by witnesses(The two witnesses in the case are Bobby Joshi, a resident of Delhi, and Raj Kumar, a taxi driver) and various pieces of evidence – such as semen-splattered clothes found at the scene disprove the SIT’s claim that no gangrapes occurred on that day. It then asked the SIT to find the offenders, so as to “instil confidence in the public”.

SIT head Mamta Singh committed “professional impropriety”

Anupam Gupta, the impartial advisor to the court,said that the SIT head and inspector general of police (IGP) Mamta Singh had committed “professional impropriety”.

“Why did you get his statement recorded before the magistrate? Did you have any new evidence, was any arrest made, or did you think this person would resile from his position? Why was this done almost six months (after the first statement)… when even the challan had been submitted,” the high court asked Singh and the state counsels.

The bench ordered the SIT to file a fresh status report, and scheduled the next hearing for February 28. It also directed the state to file an affidavit – clearly stating that charges of rape and kidnapping have not been dropped from the FIR – before the trial court.