Security tightened at ISBT following gangrape incident
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 19 Aug: The gangrape incident on the night of 12 August inside the ISBT complex in Dehradun has led to deep anguish among the Doon residents. Although, the Police have managed to arrest all the five accused in the case and have also seized the bus involved in the accident, there are many questions that remain unanswered regarding the safety of the people in public places like the bus and the railway stations, etc. One may like to remind here that ISBT houses a Police Chowki, also, yet the gangrape was committed by the culprits and the Police remained ignorant of the incident.
Places like the Bus Station and the Railway Station remain occupied by people almost round the clock and, therefore, it is natural for the people to expect tight security arrangements at all times. Also, as these places frequently witness movement of suspected criminals trying to enter or leave the city, they need to be under the constant vigil of local intelligence personnel and the police informers. It however seems that basic policing is missing nowadays.
When the incident came to light, the Police swung into action and managed to arrest all the five accused in the case. However, some loopholes are still evident. Even after the victim was rescued and the gangrape incident become known, the bus involved in the crime kept on going about its rounds and was seized much later. Till, then it had made several trips to Rishikesh and Delhi and had also been allegedly cleaned several times before it was seized by the Police.
Unfortunately, all the action taken by the Police seem to be a knee-jerk reaction and to avoid huge embarrassment, particularly in the wake of a gangrape incident in Kolkata which is making national headlines these days. After this, police have increased security arrangements in Dehradun ISBT premises. Additional Police personnel have been deployed, though no action seems to have been initiated against the Police personnel posted at the ISBT. It is claimed by sources that a posting at the ISBT Chowki is much in demand among the Sub Inspectors and the constables since it is considered to be a lucrative one. The Police also claim to have tightened security arrangements at other strategic and crowded places such as the Railway Station, etc.
It may be recalled that late on 12 August night (around 2 a.m. on 13 August), on receiving information from a security personnel posted at ISBT that a teenaged girl had been spotted at the station, a team of the Child Rights Protection Commission arrived and found her in a distraught state. The girl was counselled, during which it was revealed that she had been raped at the ISBT. A case at ISBT was then registered on Saturday (17 August) following which the Police began the investigation and also studied the CCTV footage. The five accused who carried out this heart-wrenching crime were arrested. All those arrested were interrogated thoroughly and cases registered against them under POCSO Act.
The first accused is Ravi Kumar (34), resident of Nawabganj, Farrukhabad, UP. Ravi Kumar is a government driver. The second accused is Dharmendra Kumar, who is also a driver but hired on contractual basis. Dharmendra Kumar is a resident of Buggawala, Haridwar. The third accused, Devendra Kumar, is aged 57 and is a bus conductor. He is a resident of Bhagwanpur, Haridwar. The fourth accused has been identified as Rajpal (57). Rajpal is also a contractual driver. The fifth accused has been identified as Rajesh Kumar, who is a cashier at the bus depot. A case has been registered against the five accused under sections 70(2) BNS 5 (g)/6 of POCSO.
According to the Police, the victim hails from Moradabad and she was found sitting in a distraught and disturbed condition. She shared her ordeal at the hands of the rapists after a long round of counselling. Once the news spread, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh reached the ISBT outpost and enquired about the incident. It was a security guard who saw the girl and found something suspicious. He called up the helpline number 1098. For a long time, the girl did not reveal her name or her ordeal to the counselling team which had rescued her and brought her to the Naari Niketan.
The investigation revealed that the teenager had first left Moradabad and reached Delhi from where she was picked up by the driver of the bus involved and brought to Dehradun where he raped her. Then the other accused also raped her.
The police are leant to have spoken to her relatives and called them to Dehradun. Some claims are also being made that she is mentally not stable. The Bus bearing registration number UK 07 PA 5299 is now in the possession of the Police and has been sent for forensic examination. The helper of another Volvo bus number UK 07 PA 3999 is also under suspicion of having been involved in the gang rape. It is being claimed that this bus was also used during the incident. This bus was continuously operating trips to Delhi via Dehradun-Rishikesh after the incident even after the case of rape was registered till it was summoned to Dehradun from Rishikesh.
