Following the ‘Nirbhaya’ case in 2012, a law was put in place in 2013 to ensure that police negligence in serious cases such as rape would be punished. A case would be registered against the erring official under Section 166 (a) of the Indian Penal Code in the same police station. But, in the past eight years, how many cases have been lodged in Uttar Pradesh under this? Just one.

Section 166 (a) provides that if a woman reports rape, acid attack and human trafficking to the police either directly or through any other medium, the police should immediately file a case and ensure justice to the victim at the earliest. If they don’t and a case is filed, and they are found guilty, officials will face imprisonment of up to two years and a fine.  

Recently, a case of negligence was registered under this Section against Raghavendra Pratap Singh, then inspector of the Ughaiti Police Station area, in the Badaun gang rape case in Uttar Pradesh, where an anganwadi worker was sexually assaulted and killed. The FIR, it is believed, will encourage the police to not be negligent. “This is the first case in Bareilly range where an FIR has been lodged for negligence,” Rajesh Kumar Pandey, IG, Bareilly range, told Gaon Connection over the phone. 

Pandey said there “has been serious police negligence in the Badaun case. The inspector did not arrive on the spot, he also misled his SSP [Senior Superintendent of Police]. As soon as he received information, he should have immediately lodged an FIR and done an on-the-spot inquiry to establish the truth, but he did not do anything”.

The police are conducting a detailed investigation to ascertain the chain of events — who first approached the police station, which official spoke to them, and why there was a delay in taking action. After this, a charge sheet will be filed, said Pandey. 

Chandramukhi Devi, a member of the National Commission for Women, who had come from Delhi to meet the family of the Badaun victim, told Gaon Connection she was not “satisfied with the role of the police. According to the superintendent of police, the victim was alive when she was brought home. Had there been timely action, she may still be alive. These incidents will stop only when the police show sensitivity and act promptly,” said Devi.

What happened in Badaun?

The Ughaiti police station in Badaun is alleged to have merely taken down the complaint by the family of the deceased in the morning of January 4, 2021. It was only when the family called 112 (integrated emergency number) did the police arrive at the victim’s house in the evening. The panchnama of the body took place 18 hours after the incident, and the post mortem, 48 hours later. 

Meanwhile, the main accused in the incident, Mahant Satyanarayan, the Mahanta (the head priest) of the temple where the anganwadi worker was assaulted, remained in the temple till the evening of the second day of the incident and misled everyone by saying the deceased had come to worship and had died after falling into the well. The incident came to light on January 5 when the post-mortem report was handed over. The police then announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for news about Satyanarayan, who was in hiding. On January 7, villagers handed him over to the police. Two other accused were already arrested. 

Lack of awareness

There is also a provision to file an FIR against the police under Section 21 (b) for negligence in sexual harassment cases. But, due to lack of awareness, no FIR has been lodged against the police so far. “To my knowledge, nobody has been punished in UP under this law in these eight years,” Renu Mishra, executive director and lawyer at the Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiative (AALI), an institution providing free legal aid to women in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar, told Gaon Connection.

The FIR lodged against the police in Badaun is a good step by the department, “but it is imperative there is a fair inquiry, timely filing of charge sheet, and punishment for the officer if found guilty,” Mishra said. However, she cautioned that such actions should not be a mere formality and that the FR [final report] is included, because usually police do not take action against police. If strict action is taken, it will send out a good message and there will be fear of accountability,” she added.

Sutapa Sanyal, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, said there was a need for more accountability among police. “There is a need for sensitivity in police training, and a refresher training too. The trainers need to include psychologists, and SOPs have to be developed to delegate accountability. Those at the top will have to deliver a clear message that there shall be no laxity in implementing Section 166 (a),” she added.

Advocate Seema Samriddhi Kushwaha, who has fought the Nirbhaya case and is involved in the Hathras case in Uttar Pradesh, told Gaon Connection, “Since the enactment of this law, Badaun will be the first case in my knowledge where an FIR has been lodged against a police officer under 166 (a). I laud this crucial step that will create fear among culprits and improve people’s trust in the police. ”

Of all the cases that come to Kushwaha, 90 per cent bear the mark of police negligence. “After the Nirbhaya case, a number of new laws were brought in and the sections amended, but their implementation has not been as effective,” Kushwaha said. “Police do not take prompt action in any case unless it is highlighted. They have a patriarchal and casteist mindset,” she alleged. 

Gaon Connection tried calling several senior officers including the DGP, Uttar Pradesh, for data on the number of police officers  charged with negligence under Section 166 (a), but the department was unable to provide these figures. 

The ADG (law and order) said the data will be provided if requested over mail. A mail was sent on January 12 to the Director General of Police, but there has been no reply yet.

As per the recently released National Crime Records Bureau data for the year 2019, 87 incidents of rape are recorded every day across the country. In 2020, 32,033 rape cases were registered, with 3,065 cases from Uttar Pradesh.

Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiative and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, which provide legal aid and advice to women, researched in 2019-20, 14 cases of rape between 2016 and 2019 in Uttar Pradesh. In 11 out of 14 cases, it took between two and 228 days to lodge an FIR at the police station, despite a social worker accompanying and helping every victim. 

According to this report, in each of the 14 cases, the police refused to file a first information report (FIR) the first time. The report also mentioned that it is difficult to seek legal remedy against this attitude of the police and the matter often goes unresolved. “This report is important in today’s era,” said Brinda Grover, advocate in the Supreme Court. “It is important to note and understand that there is a gross lack of information inside the police station. Most policemen harbour outdated notions about rape and have an understanding of neither rape nor the law.”

“Unfortunately, the police force overlooks protocol,” admitted RK Chaturvedi, former IG of Uttar Pradesh. “If you look at the Hathras case [A 19-year-old girl died on September 29 after being brutally raped in a field in Uttar Pradesh], it being a case pertaining to the SC ST Act, the DSP should have inspected the site of crime within twenty four hours, which he did not do. The matter should have been examined immediately and the truth should have been brought to the fore, which was not done, so the credibility of the police is put to question,” he told Gaon Connection.

Read the story in Hindi.