On 29 July 2020 when the daughters of the SK were playing on the road, the accused Mukta Gilbile scared off the children to not play in front of her house.
They immediately came to their mother, SK, and she told them to continue playing as they were playing on the road and not on the personal premises of any single person. But Ms. Mukta Gilbile again abused them and this time by caste names and slurs. SK went to Mukta, the accused, to ask her why she was troubling her daughters. The accused started abusing her too and was joined by other family members who started to physically abuse her.
She was kicked in the stomach. Her ear was bitten and torn apart by Mukta Gilbile. Later the complaint was registered by police against Mukata Gilbile and others. There was a reluctance on part of police to register complaints as per the Prevention of Atrocities Act, though the victim was demanding the same. Meanwhile, the accused registered a cross-complaint against all family members of the victim. The family of the victim was continuously put under pressure as the accused were trying to threaten them through various means.
The complaint was not registered under PoA though the victim was demanding the same. Meanwhile, on 14th August 2020, the father of the victim went missing. On 15th August 2020, the family got the news that the father is dead. A complaint was registered and the accused were made suspect. But the police claimed and registered the case as suicide and not murder. After demands, PoA was applied in both cases.
There are cross complaints registered against victims. The police should not have registered the complaint. The accused are not arrested even after the addition of sections of PoA. As the accused were out on bail (given on the same day of the arrest) the victim’s family was under continuous pressure. The Father of the victim Mr. Ramesh Kale was kept under tremendous mental pressure.
Recommendations:
- The Family should be given immediate police protection.
- Compensation amount should be given immediately to the victim as per provisions of PoA rules.
- Accused should be arrested immediately as new sections are added in the FIR and all investigation procedures should be initiated once again as the Investigation officer is now changed including the “Spot Inspection (Pachanama)”.