Delhi Police on Tuesday registered a case against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal for allegedly revealing the identity of a 14-year-old rape victim in a notice sent to the Delhi Police and shared with media organisations.
The minor Dalit girl died on Sunday at a Delhi hospital after being forced to drink a corrosive substance by a rape accused.
“How many Nirbhayas does Delhi want? We all simply wait for next Nirbhaya to die,” the DCW chief Swati Maliwal said on Twitter, adding she “never felt so helpless.”
Last week, Maliwal issued a notice to DCP (North) questioning the handling of the case and shared the same with various media organisations.
Maliwal questioned the FIR against her and hinted that it was a political vendetta. "DCW issues Notice to PS Burari for role in 14 year old girls case. 2 days later Delhi Police registers baseless FIR against me. Vendetta?" she wrote on Twitter.
She said that she has not revealed the identity of the victim and said, "Firstly, not released name of victim. Instead ensured proper medical care in Pvt Hospital. Police arrested accused only after DCW Notice."
The DCW chief also questioned the law that forbids revealing the identity of rape victims. "Also, why shud rape victim hide her identity? Shouldn't rapists be hiding? Is it the shame of a victim that she was subjected to cruelty?, she said.
The victim, who was allegedly raped at Burari in north Delhi, succumbed to her injuries at the Max Hospital in New Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh on Sunday after her organs were destroyed.
In December 2015, on the basis of her complaint, a rape case was registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) against her neighbour Shivshankar, the main accused who was arrested by Delhi Police on Saturday.
On May 15, just a day before a hearing in the court, the girl was kidnapped from her house by the maternal aunt of the accused and was raped several times. Her hands and feet were ties and she was refused any food. Another FIR was registered on May 19.
The 14-year-old victim in her complaint to the police said that she was also forced to drink a corrosive substance which destroyed her internal organs badly.
Earlier, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal had intervened in the matter and had the victim shifted from government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital to Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, where she died on Sunday.
On the other hand, Delhi Police claimed that they arrested the accused Shivshankar thrice, but the victim turned hostile.
