PILIBHIT: A farmer, 28, and his wife were brutally assaulted by five men who barged into their house over an old enmity in Pilibhit on the night of Jan 17.
The woman, 25, was stripped and allegedly molested by the intruders when she tried to save her husband. The next morning, they went to the local thana to file a case. However, police allegedly refused to oblige, and instead they booked the injured couple for “offering a bribe” and “detained them for over 24 hours”.
The farmer said, “Police did not enforce legal action against the accused. We were held in a lock-up. Even after seeing us badly hurt, they did not send us for medical tests. We went for the tests on our own later and reports revealed ‘multiple injuries’. CT scan report stated that I had suffered a head injury. We had no other option but to knock on the court’s doors.”
Finally, weeks later, following the order of the court of the additional chief judicial magistrate in Pilibhit, police booked the five accused on Sunday.
SHO Jagdeep Malik said on Monday: “We came to know that the main accused, Parjeet Singh, has a criminal past, and he was barred from entering the district in Jan-end. Singh and his four associates were booked under BNS sections 191 (2) (rioting), 191 (3) (rioting with deadly weapons), 190 (unlawful assembly), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 331 (4) (house trespass), 74 (assault against a woman with intention of outraging her modesty) and 76 (criminal force against a woman with intent to disrobe her). Two of the accused belong to Pathankot in Punjab. We’ve initiated a detailed investigation and they’ll be arrested once the probe is complete.”
When queried on why the FIR wasn’t registered earlier, the SHO added: “The two sides fought in the house. The couple was booked after the other side filed a case. The matter related to the couple’s allegations was being investigated and we were waiting for the report’s findings.”
Meanwhile, the farmer said the main accused was from the same village, and a murder case was filed against him earlier. “Local cops knew all of this but still didn’t admit our case. We gave a complaint in writing immediately after we were attacked inside our home. The court order has now forced them to lodge a case,” he added.
