The accused, Premoday Khakha, and his wife are now in judicial custody
New Delhi:
Intervening in the matter of a teenager’s sexual abuse by a now-suspended Delhi government officer, the Delhi High Court today told police to protect her identity and asked if she was raped by other men too.
The 17-year-old girl has alleged that Premoday Khakha, a senior officer in Delhi government’s Women and Child Development department, had raped her repeatedly during her stay with his family. The girl has told police that Khakha was her father’s friend and that she stayed with him and his wife Seema Rani for several months after her father’s death in 2020.
The officer also impregnated her during this time. She has alleged that his wife terminated the pregnancy by giving her abortion pills.
The matter came to light after the girl was hospitalised due to frequent panic attacks. During therapy sessions, she told doctors about what she went through. The doctors informed police.
Soon after, a police case was registered under Indian Penal Code and the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The officer was promptly suspended from his job. He and his wife were subsequently arrested.
They are currently in judicial custody.
Khakha has claimed before the court that he underwent a vasectomy operation in 2005 and, therefore, he couldn’t have impregnated the teenaged girl.
His counsel Umashankar Gautam said the court has sought a report on a medical board’s findings about the claimed vasectomy procedure before his judicial custody ends on September 6, reported news agency PTI.
