No criminal cases in victim’s Hapur village in two years

Hapur: Shyampur Jatt village in Hapur that came into limelight after a woman alleged that she was sold by her father for Rs 10,000 and was raped multiple times by the villagers, had no criminal case recorded against any one in the last two years, police said.

The village is located on the Hapur bypass about 23 km east from the Hapur district headquarters.

A senior police officer of Hapur district requesting anonymity told IANS, “The law and order situation in the village is very satisfactory. There have been no cases registered against any people of the Shyampur Jatt village in the last two years,” he said.

He said minor issues were sorted out by the gram panchayat.

His remarks come only three days after the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case of rape against 16 people from the village following the 28-year-old woman’s complaint that she had been raped by 14 people. The rape case also names two women of the village. The woman is now in hospital with 35 per cent burns after she allegedly tried to immolate herself.

Rajan Sirohi, Gram Pradhan of Shyampur Jatt, said the people the woman had named in the FIR are between 18 and 55 years of age. “If any such thing had happened in the village, it would have been impossible to hide. So, yesterday we have requested the ADG (Additional Director General of Police) in Meerut to take action after verifying the allegations and collecting evidence,” Sirohi said.

He said the villagers were also summoned by the police on Tuesday evening by Yesh Veer Singh, Superintendent of Police, Hapur.

“We have presented our side of the story to the police, we want a fair probe so that no innocent is arrested,” Sirohi said.

The senior police officer said there were discrepancies in the woman’s complaint. “First, she has said in her complaint that she was married at the age of 14. However, her father says she was married at the age of 19. He has also provided her Aadhaar card which says she was born in 1991.

“Then in the second marriage affidavit, she has mentioned that her first husband died in a road accident, but he deposed before us yesterday (Tuesday),” he said.

The officer also pointed out that the police were not informed immediately after she had attempted immolation on April 28.

“The police came to know about the incident only after the hospital informed the Moradabad police through a memo record,” he said, adding that these things were complicating the case.

Regarding her burn injuries, the officer said a team from the Hapur police had been sent to Moradabad to get details in the case.

“A police team, led by senior officers, have visited the house where the woman was staying in Moradabad to find out about how she got the burn injuries. The officers have also spoken to her neighbours. So the details will be out soon,” he said.

The woman’s first husband said on Wednesday that he had deposed before the police on Tuesday.

He said when he was married to the woman, the girl’s family had accused him of dowry harassment. “They filed a police complaint in 2011. We gave our statement to the then Circle Officer, who dismissed the matter after the case was found to be untrue,” he said.

The Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR on May 12 but no arrests have been made in the case as yet.

 Published on: May 15, 2019 at 21:12 IST

IANS