New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking registration of an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for having disclosed the identity of the minor rape victim and her parents. A complaint was filed against Rahul for having shared his own photo on Twitter along with the father and mother of the child victim which is akin to revealing the identity of the minor victim.
In the petition filed by Makrand Suresh Mhadelkar, it has been stated that Rahul Gandhi has violated the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO Act by uploading the photo of the victim girl's parents on Twitter. The PIL further states that Rahul Gandhi should be imprisoned for six months to one year under Section 23(2) of the POCSO Act for disclosing the identity of the victim's parents. Hence, Mhadelkar has sought registration of FIR under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, adding that the Congress leader did this act as an attempt to take advantage of the incident.
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What the minor rape case is all about?
The nine-year-old girl, resident of Delhi's Cantonment area was allegedly raped and murdered on August 1. The issue came to light after the minor girl was cremated without her parents' consent at Old Nangal crematorium after she was found dead there. A priest working at the crematorium, who had pressurized the family to perform the last rites of the dead body, had been charged with murder.
According to the parents, the minor girl had gone to get cold water from the water cooler at the crematorium but did not return for a long time. It was then that they were informed by the priest that the girl allegedly died of electrocution while trying to get cold water from the water cooler. The priest had also told the girl's parents to refrain from filing a case in the police station, saying that if the girl's body would be taken to a hospital, her organs would be stolen.
The girl's parents and relatives have also alleged that burn marks were observed on the body of their daughter, unlike that of electrocution. The accused priest and three other men have been booked under Sections 302, 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, along with the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act.
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