Alleged rape of a police officer by a girl who lodged a complaint of gang rape

A 13-year-old girl in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has alleged that she was raped by a police officer when she went to the police station to lodge a complaint of gang rape. 

(Photo: getty images)

According to police, a criminal case has been registered against the officer and he has been suspended. The officer was arrested on Wednesday evening and has denied any wrongdoing. 

The girl alleges she was gang-raped by four men last month. The news has sparked outrage in India and people are venting their anger on social media. 

In his complaint to the police, the girl's father alleged that four men took his daughter to the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh and raped her there for four days. They then left the girl back in her village in Lalitpur district. 

According to NDTV, when the girl went with her female relative to lodge a complaint at the local police station the next day, the police officer also raped her. 

Lalitpur District Police Chief Nikhal Pathak told media that the girl was brought to him by a local NGO Childline who told him about the incident. 

"When I found out, I made sure the case was registered." Questions have been raised over the law and order situation in India's most populous state since the incident. 

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi wrote in a Hindi tweet, "If police stations are not safe for women, then where will they go to complain?" 

He further asked, "Has the UP government considered increasing the deployment of women in police stations, making police stations safer for women?" 

Rape and crimes against women have been gaining traction in India since December 2012, when a young woman was brutally gang-raped on a bus in the capital Delhi. She later succumbed to her injuries. 

The incident garnered worldwide attention and people staged mass demonstrations in Delhi. India has to enforce strict laws to eradicate crimes. In 2020, four people were sentenced to death for this crime. 

But there are still thousands of rape cases in the country. Crime data is available in India till 2020, according to which 28,379 women and girls were raped this year, ie one rape every 18 minutes. 

Social workers say the actual number is much higher because many incidents go unreported because police often show indifference. 

The state of Uttar Pradesh is particularly critical of the government's response to crimes against women. 

The state came under fire in 2020 when a 19-year-old girl died after revealing that she had been gang-raped. 

Police and administration burned his body in the dark of night without the family's consent. Despite overwhelming evidence, authorities say he was not raped.