On August 21, the Delhi Police arrested a senior government official for raping a minor girl for almost three months. The accused, identified as Premoday Khakha and his wife are accused of even terminating the pregnancy of the minor girl. All the accused and the victim belongs to the Christian community. The fact that they all met during a Church prayer for the first time, has brought a cloistered neighbourhood church in north Delhi’s Burari into the spotlight.
A brief background
Premoday Khakha, 51, who served as deputy director in Delhi’s women and child department (WCD), and his wife 50-year-old Seema Rani were arrested on August 21, after a 17-year-old girl who lived in their Burari residence between October 2020 and April 2021 alleged that the man raped her multiple times.
Notably, the victim stated in her statement that, the accused impregnated her and when she shared this with his wife, she gave her abortion pills. The victim shared family ties with the accused and family and used to call Khakha her “mama”.
The minor who used to live with her family moved to Khakha’s house in October 2020 after her father’s death. Her mother believed in the family and found it better for her to stay with a happy family than her. The trust emerged from a string of ties they shared.
The Church Connection
The family’s tie dates back to 1998 when they first met during Sunday prayers at Amazing Grace Church in Shahdara in east Delhi. The family shared an even stronger bond than others due to their same roots. They both belong to Ranchi in Jharkhand, where they followed the Lutheran Church.
When they moved to Delhi, their searches for a Lutheran Church led them to Amazing Grace Church, founded in 1992 by another Ranchi resident, Ajit Kumar Horo, at his residence in Bihari Colony in Shahdara.
Now more than 30 years old, the close-knit church still has just 30 families as members, though it’s changed locations twice, moving from Shahdara to Mukherjee Nagar in 2002 and then Burari in 2015.
This close-knit bond made the victim’s mother believe in Khakha even more.
Notably, the Church was unaware of the trauma the minor was put into by Khakha and his wife until his arrest on August 21.
As per a report by Hindustan Times (HT), members of the church, who asked not to be identified, said that relations between the two families, who had known each other for nearly 25 years, had soured.
They said that the girl and her mother had not visited the church for nearly a month, while Khakha and his family members skipped prayers over the last two Sundays.
The HT met a woman working at the Church who said, she did not know the teenager had been raped.
“I still can’t believe Khakha sexually assaulted the girl. I have known the families for over 20 years. They were very close and like a family. Khakha is a key member of the church. He was also the former secretary of the church committee. I remember him to be a nice and helping man,” the woman said.
Timeline of the case
1998: The accused Khakha and the victim’s family met at the Amazing Grace Church.
October 2020: The minor’s father died due to Covid-19 at their Northeast Delhi house.
November 2020: Khakha brought the minor to his Burari residence, saying, she will live with the family
November 2020–January 2021: The accused repeatedly raped the minor.
February 2021: Minor becomes pregnant and informs Khakha’s wife Rani, who instantly gave her abortion pills.
April 2021- August 2023: Both families live their lives, usually, meeting at Church prayers.
August 2023: The minor victim started having multiple panic attacks.
August 7, 2023: The mother of the minor took her to the doctor where the minor opens up about the rape during counselling sessions.
August 12, 2023: The counsellor reports the matter to the police and an FIR was registered on August 13.
August 21, 2023: The news becomes public, Delhi CM Kejriwal orders Khakha’s suspension, and later the police make the arrests.
Police arrested Khakha and others
The Burari police registered an FIR against Khakha under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act – 376(2)(f)(being a relative, guardian, or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman), 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent), 120B ( (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of the POCSO Act.
According to the Delhi Police, the accused allegedly sexually harassed, physically molested, and repeatedly raped the minor victim for several months between 2020 and 2021. After the death of the victim’s father, she was living with Khakha and his family at their residence.
The girl started having anxiety bouts and was admitted to a hospital last week. After extensive psychological counselling, she opened up to the doctors, counsellors, and police officers and revealed that she was sexually harassed by the accused, the police said.
Previous cases against Khakhas were ignored by Delhi’s WCD
As per a report by OpIndia, the accused, who was the Deputy Director of Delhi Women and Child Development, has been witnessing a number of cases against him and the department simply ignored the court notices.
As per a letter dated July 5, 2019, issued by the Delhi High Court the Joint Registrar had written to the Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Government of Delhi that Khakha was accused of assaulting multiple women at the workplace.
A similar letter was issued on March 7, 2019, the complaint of Abhilasha Dwivedi was in relation to the violation of the rights of the children in the ‘Observation Home’. Along with this, Khakha was also accused of assault by several women at the workplace. The letter sent by the Joint Registrar of the Delhi High Court on March 5, 2019, is also serious as it affirms the allegation of sexual abuse of children in the Boys’ Home. The complaints had also been recognized by the Juvenile Justice Committee which had sought urgent attention in the case.
As per the letter Khakha was ordered not be sent to any children’s homes. He was also forbidden from being moved to a location where he could sway the probe, according to the directive.
Notably, it was also requested to reopen the investigation into Premoday Khakha in a letter dated May 16, 2019. The Delhi High Court’s “Juvenile Justice Secretariat” also forwarded this letter. Additionally, the investigation’s preliminary report was sought. This demonstrates that the department was not sincere about the issue despite obtaining multiple complaints. It also demonstrates Premoday Khakha’s power. On Independence Day (August 15) of 2019, it is said that he raised the flag at “Seva Kutir” in Mukherjee Nagar despite several complaints and FIRs.
Khakha, AAP’s handpicked officer
The Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva shared the pictures of the purported documents which claim that Khakha was assigned as an OSD to the then WCD Minister. Taking to X, the BJP leader stated that Delhi demands answers from CM Arvind Kejriwal on why his government assigned the officer who raped a minor as OSD to their Minister. He further claimed that Khaka was assigned to the then WCD Minister Kailash Gehlot.
The officer charged with raping a minor was Kejriwal Govt's favourite.
Had been handpicked to serve as OSD to the Minister of WCD.@SwatiJaiHind will do well to stop her drama and @ArvindKejriwal should answer why was the rapist officer handpicked to serve as his Ministers OSD.… pic.twitter.com/plKEPunAQO— Virendraa Sachdeva (@Virend_Sachdeva) August 21, 2023
As per media reports and the purported documents accessed by Times Now, the accused Khakha was an OSD to the then-AAP Minister of the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department.
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