Rajasthan Govt To Hand Over Alwar Minor Girl Alleged Sexual Assault Case To CBI

In a statement, the Rajasthan government said on Sunday that the decision to transfer the Alwar minor girl sexual assault case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was taken during a high-level meeting led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The statement said the state government would write to the Centre, recommending turning over the case to the CBI. The decision was made via video conferencing at a high-level meeting hosted by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in which senior officials and doctors were also present.

The decision came after the family of the girl demanded a CBI inquiry, claiming that 'police officials had earlier said that the girl was gangraped, but have now changed their stance'. The opposition and as well as the social activists were pressurizing the government to arrest the culprit immediately. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chief Priyank Kanoongo too had called on Gehlot to hand over the case to the central agency. The National Commission for Minorities has also taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and sought a report from the Rajasthan government by January 24.

The incident took place on January 11, 2022, when a 15-year-old girl, also suffering from a speech disorder, was found bleeding near a flyover in Alwar around 7:30 PM, around 25 kilometres away from her house in Alwar district of Rajasthan. The girl was first taken to a hospital in Alwar and later referred to the JK Lon hospital in Jaipur. She was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state and was bleeding, as per the hospital authorities, who had put her on the oxygen support.

 The case took another turn on January 14 when Alwar SP Tejaswani Gautam quoted the medical reports from JK Lon hospital and ruled out any possibility of sexual assault. The technical evidence and medical report, according to police, do not indicate the possibility of sexual assault.

Three days prior to this Tejaswi had herself told media that the victim was seen bleeding profusely from her private parts which "clearly indicated that she was sexually assaulted". After the police’s statement, the Bharatiya Janta Party started cornering the government. They had already constituted a four-member committee to probe the alleged abduction and sexual assault of the victim who is also speech impaired. 

The family members of the minor have demanded justice and speedy arrest of the culprits. "We need justice. The police should have arrested the culprits by now. We are helpless and feeling terrible", the victim's uncle, who is also at the hospital, had told Outlook.