Students and social activists protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding justice for the Delhi gang-rape victim on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

New Delhi, January 13
The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Haryana Government seeking its response to a PIL pleading for a probe by a special investigation team (SIT), comprising police officials from outside the state, into about 20 recent incidents of rape.

A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and SJ Mukhopadhaya directed the state government to file its response within six weeks.

The PIL has been filed by the brother of one of the alleged rape victims — a 13-year-old illiterate Dalit girl who was kidnapped from the Panipat Civil Hospital and sexually assaulted by some youths on October 31, 2012 — and a Delhi-based unregistered organisation - All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch through its convenor Vimal Thorat.

The petition said officials were trying to cover up the incident which was evident from the medical test report conducted on the victim. The report said the girl, identified in the petition as “X,” was mentally unstable and habituated to sex and there was no evidence of rape.

Further, the police had registered only a case of kidnapping whereas the girl had talked about gang rape, it said. After a series of rape cases reported in the media in recent months, the authorities “are loath to prepare any record that would show the true state of affairs,” the petitioners said.

At this, the Bench noted that the “girl is just 13 years old. It is unusual.” Arguing for the petitioners, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said complaints to the authorities had gone in vain. The petition had come up for hearing on January 11. The petitioners have also sought a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the girl and other rape or gang rape victims mentioned in the PIL.

“In the present case, local political leaders are approaching the parents of the victim to compromise and settle the matter and it appears that in the next few days tremendous political pressure and also pressure from the police will be brought to bear on the family to not proceed with the criminal case,” the petition said.

The petition contended that there has been a marked increase in the number of rape cases in Haryana but the accused were managing to go scot free due to the lackluster attitude of the police and shoddy investigations.

Among the incidents listed in the petition are the alleged rape of a woman by some men in Sirsa on July 20, 2012, a 15-year-old Dalit girl in Karnal in September when she was on her way to school, a student in Gohana (Sonepat) on September 2, a class XI student by four youths in a busy market area at Gohana on September 29, a married Dalit woman of Banwasa village by four men on September 27, a 16-year-old girl from a minority community in Bijouli village in Yamunanagar district on October 1, a 12-year-old student in Rohtak by her middle-aged neighbour on October 3, a minor girl in Kalanwali town on October 3, a 26-year-old Dalit woman in Narwana on October 3, a Dalit woman in Kalayat (Kaithal) on October 9 and a 13-year-old student in Khai village for five months by a 60-year-old fruit vendor.