Want to abort, cops ask rape survivor

Nagpur: A five-month-old pregnant rape survivor, who is keen to deliver the baby, was devastated on Saturday after Kapil Nagar police allegedly asked her whether she wanted to abort. Already struggling to overcome trauma of rape, the 30-year-old survivor was allegedly subjected to harassment by the police.
As a woman cop met her only briefly, the survivor had to narrate the entire episode of sexual exploitation before the male police personnl on Friday.
She was earlier turned away from the police station after filing a non-cognizable offence of cheating. It was only after the intervention of social worker Sunita Thakre and Hafeez Sabri, who met zonal DCP Neelotpal, that the complaint was registered as a FIR. TOI has a copy of the audio tape in which survivor narrated her experience at the police station to Thakre.
In another incident earlier this week, Kapil Nagar police had reprimanded Childline volunteers for helping a 10-year-old lodge a rape complaint against 48-year-old man. The offence was registered after much delay when local residents, along with Childline volunteers in possession of video recording by survivor narrating her plight, stormed the police station.
The following day, Childline volunteers accompanied more survivors to lodge complaints against the same accused, only to earn wrath of senior officials of the police station. “Don’t we have more important work than this?” the cops allegedly said to the volunteers.
A complaint has been lodged with DCP Neelotpal against senior PI Prabhakar Mate of Kapil Nagar police station. TOI has a copy of the complaint.
In the latest case, the pregnant rape survivor was on Saturday allegedly asked by cops if she intended to keep the baby when she approached the police station for a copy of FIR. She informed the cops that the doctor has warned her against abortion. The cops then allegedly asked her to keep them informed about her decision.
Though Neelotpal’s intervention helped the survivor lodge a FIR of rape, her problems only increased. After summoning the pregnant woman to police station at 10am, cops made her wait for three-and-half-hours before taking her for medical examination.
CP BK Upadhyay said that he would look into the issue.