Police initiate probe against Delhi BJP spokesperson for sharing details of POCSO case

The Delhi police have initiated a probe against Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor for sharing a copy of the FIR of a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case on social media. He was told by police that it was illegal to share details of victims of sexual offences.

On June 12, a 42-year-old woman was arrested for sexually assaulting and threatening a minor girl in Delhi. On the same night, Kapoor shared a copy of the FIR on social media along with several pictures of the accused. The next morning, DCP (Dwarka) responded to the post, “It is illegal to post any document which contains the details of victims of sexual offences.”

Kapoor later said, “I understand and agree to abide.”

The police have filed a non-cognizable report (NCR) under Section 24 of the POCSO Act and Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act. “They moved the NCR report to a Delhi Court on Wednesday which granted them permission to probe further against Kapoor,” a senior police officer said.

Last week, the complainant, in her statement, said the accused, who runs an NGO, had forcibly confined her.

A few days ago, the victim was not feeling well and was taken to a nearby hospital. She managed to escape and informed her mother about her ordeal, who in turn complained to the police. “On June 9, an FIR was registered under Sections 377 (unnatural sex), 506 (threatening) of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act. After registering an FIR, the woman was arrested,” a senior police officer said.

According to the FIR, the accused sexually abused the victim and also assaulted her. “The accused also recorded her obscene video and threatened that she would upload her video on social media if she left her house. The accused woman also asked her to do house chores and she was never allowed to speak with her mother,” the FIR reads.