CRPF personnel confines, rapes J&K woman, others film act; 3 suspended

Jammu: Three CRPF personnel were suspended and an FIR registered after a 24-year-old woman alleged she was wrongfully confined and then raped by one of them inside a camp in Jammu, officials said on Sunday.

The woman alleged that accused filmed the sexual assault and threatened to release the video on social media if she disclosed the incident to police or someone else, they added.

The woman, who hails from the Poonch district, had lodged a written complaint at Domana police station on Saturday, alleging she was taken inside the camp by a group of three CRPF men, and raped by one of them on March 10, a police official said.

“I had alighted from a bus around 7.30 pm and was on my way to a relative's home. I lost my way and was intercepted by three personnel in uniform outside their camp half an hour later. They took me inside on the pretext of helping me but then one of them raped me,” the woman alleged in her complaint according to the official.

The official said a case under relevant sections of the Ranbir Penal Code, including charges of rape and wrongful confinement, was registered against unidentified personnel and an investigation initiated.

Based on the outcome of the investigation, more charges, including those under the Information Technology Act, would be added, he said.

Reacting to the development, CRPF spokesperson Ashish Kumar Jha said three accused CRPF personnel were placed under suspension and the force was rendering full cooperation to the police in the probe.

“On March 10 at around 2200 hours, a girl along with two CRPF personnel was found inside Group Centre, CRPF, Bantalab Campus which prima facie seemed to be a case of security breach.  Accordingly, the matter was informed to local police who also examined the woman and CRPF personnel as molestation was alleged," Jha said.

Two CRPF personnel were suspended, nevertheless, as it appeared to be a security lapse, he added. 

A video of the episode was circulated on social media after which the woman lodged the complaint alleging outraging of her modesty by CRPF personnel, Jha said.

“The CRPF personnel who circulated the video have also been suspended by superior authorities. The matter is being investigated by the police,” Jha said. 

The CRPF is a very disciplined and professional force and does not tolerate any act by its personnel that could malign its image, the spokesperson said.