NHRC expresses displeasure over police probe in Bhopal's rape and blackmailing case, to reinvestigate matter

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 4 (ANI): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed serious dissatisfaction over the police investigation in Bhopal's alleged rape and blackmailing case with college girls and decided to reinvestigate the matter.
The Commission's team will visit the city to thoroughly investigate the matter again and submit its report before the commission within a month, said NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo on Friday.
Speaking to ANI, Kanoongo said, "We sent a team to investigate the matter in which college girls in Bhopal were ragged, raped, videographed and forced to convert into Islam. All the victim girls were Hindu. We took the matter as religious discriminatory crime and sent our team to probe. Our team investigated the matter for three days in Bhopal and recommended that they need to visit the city for one more time to probe the matter as evidence submitted by police is insufficient."
The team sought permission from the Commission to visit again. Following which the commission granted permission to investigate the matter again under the supervision of an Superintendent of Police (SP) rank and submit its report within a month, he added.
"We have requested the DGP and Chief Secretary that compensation should be given to the children based on their age (under victim compensation scheme). Secondly, the crime pattern is communal gender crime in which Hindu girls are targeted, so its investigation as an organised crime is necessary. Organised crimes are operated and have protection. The accused in this case might have some protection and the police missed to expose. Additionally, it seems that there is something in the investigation that is being hidden. So, we have sought information on some aspects and asked our team to submit a report within a month," Kanoongo said.
He further raised a series of questions on the investigation of the local police claiming that the police failed to properly probe the matter.
"Our question is that, did the police try to find out more victims or accused or try to bust the racket? There was a place called 'Club 90', a den of vice which was provided by Municipal Corporation to run a restaurant. We don't know whether they had a license of food department or license of labour department, nothing has come to fore in police investigation till date. It was demolished without collecting forensic evidence from the site which brings the action under suspicion."
"Additionally, a person came to light in the investigation of the commission, who has a criminal history but the police failed to probe the relation between the person and the prime accused Farhan, which shows the incompetence of the police. So, we are getting the matter investigated again," he added.
He further highlighted that they received information via email and whistleblowers in relation to the incident based on which he claimed that police failed to perform the proper investigation into the matter. (ANI)