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 National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairperson, Priyank Kanoongo slammed the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal for protecting Khakha.
Stating that this is not an ordinary case, Kanoongo claimed that the incident could be a “case of trafficking”. He spoke about the violation of Supreme Court norms by allowing Khakha to work in the office.
He said, “According to our information, the father of the victim died in April 2020. At that time, it was the order of the Supreme Court that details of any minor whose parents have died should be uploaded on the Baalswaraj Portal. Later, Child Welfare Committee will decide where the child will stay and how rehabilitation will take place, as per the apex court order.”
Kanoongo stated that the commission was unable to reach the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for this case, and the name of the accused was kept hidden. Hiding the name of the accused with children body in a case involving sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offense (POCSO) Act, in itself is a violation of the Supreme Court’s order. He inquired why the victim was living with her father’s friend instead of her biological mother.
Speaking on television about this case, Kanoongo said, this is not an ordinary case, as this could rather be a case of trafficking. He claimed that the investigation may reveal that the child was being wrongly used for trafficking.
He said, “It could be a case of trafficking. The child was being wrongly used and several officials of the Delhi government are responsible for it. It is very pertinent that the officials get the data of those children, who lose their fathers as it is the Supreme Court’s order. Now, to exploit a child sexually by misusing the data raises a big question on the working procedure of Delhi Government.”
Lashing out at the reckless behaviour of Delhi’s CM Kejriwal, Kanoongo added, “It is important to notice that the FIR was registered on August 13. The Delhi Government was hiding the entire incident ever since then. When the matter came into the news, the Chief Minister started giving random statements on the incident. We are unable to understand what interest it serves to the CM in saving the accused official.”
About the so-called protest by the Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal, Kanoongo said, that it is nothing but a shameful act of using an unfortunate case to gain limelight.
Kanoongo also highlighted that the accused allegedly was connected with the minor victim through church whose role in this case is seemingly suspicious.
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 17, 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 minor 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.
After the minor started having panic attacks she opened up about the incident with her counselor, who informed the police and then a case was instituted against the accused.
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.
