Raipur: At least 16 women were sexually assaulted by police in Chhattisgarh, the National Human Rights Commission has said, serving a notice to the central Indian state government.
The rights panel held the government “vicariously liable” for the incidents reported in 2015 and 2016. The commission, in a news release on January 7, also said that it awaits the recorded statements of about “20 other victims.”
The commission also said it has directed its officials to record the statements of survivors whose statements were not recorded either by the NHRC team or by the Magistrate and submit it within a month, ndtv.com reported.
The NHRC has also asked the government to explain why it should not recommend an “interim monetary relief” of 3.7 million rupees to the women who were raped and assaulted. This includes 300,000 rupees each to eight victims of rape, 200,000 rupees each to six victims of sexual assault and 50,000 rupees each to two victims of physical assault, the panel said.
The NHRC said it had launched an investigation after a report in The Indian Express newspaper in November 2015 said women from five villages in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh had alleged that state police personnel had sexually harassed and assaulted more than 40 of them and gang raped at least two.
It was also reported that belongings of many villagers were destroyed, stolen or scattered by the forces passing through the villages.
During the course of the probe, the Commission also received another complaint that alleged more incidents of sexual violence by the security personnel against women had taken place between 11 and 14 January, 2016 in two other villages.