Farmers Movement Archive

Tikri sexual assault: SIT gets victim’s phone after five days

Tribune News ServiceJhajjar, May 13After five days of registering the case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual assault on a Bengali woman at the Tikri border finally received the cellphone of the victim on Thursday.Significantly, the SIT chief had on Wednesday said the cellphone was with the victim’s father who went to West Bengal for some rituals and would hand it over to the police after his return in a couple of days.Clarifying the issue, DSP Pawan Kumar, the SIT chief, said on May 10, the victim’s father was asked to hand over the cellphone for investigation but he went out of station. “On Thursday a person known to him, who is also associated with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), handed over the victim’s phone to us. Moreover, Kavita, a co-accused, and two advocates were also questioned about the case as it came to the fore during investigation that they too were aware of the incident. All those persons whose names have appeared in the investigation will be summoned,” he added.Countering the allegations of the victim’s father that he had accused only two persons in the complaint but the case had been booked against six, the SIT chief said the names of all suspects were mentioned in the complaint hence they had been named in the FIR. Their role in the case was being investigated from various angles. They knew about the incident and hiding the facts was also an offence, he added.Sources, however, said the SIT might get some vital evidence from WhatsApp chats, text messages and pictures available on the cellphone. The call details of the victim might also prove instrumental in the investigation to find out about those who were in contact with the victim, the sources added.Meanwhile, SKM Leader Yogendra Yadav has put the SIT in the dock, claiming that his statement recorded by the police was being wrongly interpreted. Yadav again made it clear that he learnt about the sexual assault incident on May 2 after the victim’s death.

The Tribune

2021-05-14