The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Gurugram police commissioner to appear before it on March 25 with the complete record of investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a four-year-old girl at a condominium in the city, expressing shock at the “insensitivity” shown by the police and the manner in which the child was further traumatised during the probe. The incident reportedly involved two housemaids and their male associates.. Supreme Court of India. (PTI). A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said it was compelled to take stock of the investigation and indicated that it may constitute a special investigation team (SIT) comprising senior women police officers. The court also signalled that the trial may be shifted to another court after serious concerns were raised about how the magistrate recorded the child’s statement.. “The most shocking thing is your police officer asking the parents ‘what do you want?’ When someone comes to you with a complaint of this kind, isn’t your duty to register an FIR immediately? Have you forgotten the first principle of law?…and this is the state of affairs in a metro city?” the court asked the state.. The strong observations came during a hearing on a petition seeking a court-monitored probe into the incident at a condominium in Gurugram, where two housemaids and their male associates are accused of sexually assaulting the minor.. Appearing for the victim’s family, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the court that “the more I get to know about the matter, it gets more and more serious,” alleging a “complete dereliction of duties” by both the police and the magistrate. He pointed to a series of actions that, he said, violated basic safeguards under child protection laws and compounded the trauma of the victim.. The bench questioned the delay in arrests, noting that action was taken only recently. “I read in the newspaper that some arrests were made only now. What were they doing till now?” the CJI asked. Rohatgi responded that despite the FIR being registered over a month ago, there had been little progress in the investigation until the matter was brought before the Supreme Court.. The court was particularly disturbed by the manner in which the child’s statement was recorded. Rohatgi submitted that the minor was repeatedly called to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) over the past month and questioned in the absence of her parents. He further alleged that the accused were physically presented before the child for identification, rather than following legally prescribed procedures.. The bench expressed disbelief at these submissions, asking how such identification was carried out. “What kind of insensitivity is the police showing?… How can you treat a four-year-old child like this? Traumatise her further?” the court remarked.. Rohatgi also read from an affidavit filed by the girl’s father, which h
