Police to cancel rape case against Sirsa MLA’s kin

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, July 22

The Sirsa police have prepared a cancellation report in the rape case lodged by a Delhi-based woman against a close kin of INLD MLA from Sirsa Makhan Lal Singla for lack of evidence.

RP Malhotra, convener of Samadhan, a pressure group of social justice, who took up this case with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has received this reply from the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC), along with copies of the police report.

The NHRC orders accompanying the report said the case was filed in view of the report received from Sirsa Superintendent of Police.

“However, a copy of the report will be sent to the complainant. In case any objection against the report is filed, the complaint shall be revived at its original number,” said the order, signed by Justice HS Bhalla and JS Ahlawat, both members of the HHRC.

On October 7, 2014, a woman had lodged an FIR against Singla’s nephew Manish Singla. She alleged that Manish had called her to Sirsa for a job and raped her in a local hotel after offering intoxicant-laced soft drink on September 13, 2014.

The victim had also accused the MLA’s son Rahul and another nephew, Pankaj, of having connived with Manish.

In his report, the SP said the investigating officer as well as a DSP, who was asked to re-investigate the matter, have found several weaknesses in the case.

“The fact that the woman lodged her complaint after 10 days of the alleged incident, did not inform the Sirsa police about it and the hotel rooms where she alleged she was raped were not found booked on the said day, render her allegations suspicious,” the investigating officers stated in the SP’s report.