Rajasthan Magistrate Allegedly Asks Dalit Gang-Rape Survivor To Strip; Case Filed

A judicial magistrate in Rajasthan’s Karauli district has been booked for allegedly asking an 18-year-old Dalit gang-rape survivor to strip in court to see her injuries.

The survivor had filed a complaint on March 30 accusing the Hindaun court magistrate of asking her to strip to see her injuries, said the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) (ST-SC) cell Mina Meena, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The DSP stated that the girl had refused to strip in court after recording the statement on March 30. The rape survivor then proceeded to register a complaint against the magistrate at Kotwali Police Station under the charge of outraging modesty.

The rape survivor was called back after giving her statement. “I gave full statement. I started coming out. According to a Bar and Bench report, “He called me back, then he asked me to take off my clothes, then I said why should I take off my clothes, then he said that he wanted to see the injury marks on my body. I said I can”t open my clothes in front of you and if madam were there, I would have taken off my clothes.”

A case has been filed against the judicial magistrate under Section 345 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The 18-year-old was allegedly gang-raped on March 19 by three men. A case was registered under sections 376 (rape) and 376 D (gangrape) of the IPC on March 27 at Hinduan Sadar Police Station. DSP Gridihari disclosed that the three accused were men aged between 20 and 22.

Reportedly, the accused had kidnapped the girl from her residence around evening, when her parents were not present. She was then taken away to one of the men’s houses and then gang-raped. The DSP stated that all three accused, along with their family members, have been on the run since the incident. He added that the authorities are searching for the culprits and investigations are ongoing, as reported by the Hindustan Times.