21-year-old alleges gangrape by ex-Andaman Chief Secretary, Labour officer; SIT is set up

 

Woman says was looking for a job; ex-Chief Secretary Jitendra Narain writes to PMO denying allegations

Two serving bureaucrats, one of whom is an IAS officer of the 1990 batch and was Chief Secretary, Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands, have been accused of sexual assault and gangrape by a 21-year-old woman in Port Blair.

Responding to her complaint on August 22 to the Director General of Police, A&N Islands, an FIR was lodged at the Aberdeen police station in Port Blair on October 1 and police have set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe her allegations, The Indian Express has learnt.

The SIT is headed by a Senior Superintendent of Police and the woman has been provided police protection.

The two officers the victim has accused of rape, and who are named in the FIR, are: Jitendra Narain, who was Chief Secretary of A&N Islands until three months ago when the alleged incident occurred and R L Rishi, posted as Labour Commissioner in A&N Islands.

Narain is currently Chairman & Managing Director of the Delhi Financial Corporation. When contacted in New Delhi, Narain said he would not like to comment on the “absurd” allegations. Sources close to him said he has sent a “detailed representation” to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Union Home Secretary, among others, denying the charges.

Rishi was unavailable for comment and his office told The Indian Express that he was on “medical leave.” The Indian Express has confirmed that the licence plate of the car mentioned by the woman – in which she was taken to Narain’s house — is registered in Rishi’s name.

In the FIR (No. 165/2022) , the complainant has asked that CCTV footage from Narain’s house should be collected and that she would identify his staff who should also be questioned.

Sources said the SIT team have got a new office and will handle the probe in a “fair and time-bound” manner.  A Section 164 CrPC (confessional statement) of the woman has been recorded by the SIT as well as by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Port Blair where she filed a second complaint. A relative of the woman said that they will appeal for the Section 164 statement to be recorded again via video-conferencing as a “precaution.”

The scope of the probe has also been widened to include the alleged role of a local news channel reporter, who is alleged to have broadcast hints about the woman’s identity as well as a police inspector who allegedly “leaked information” of the case to her. This follows a separate police complaint filed by the woman on how her identity was being disclosed via members of the local media.

Narain has reportedly claimed, in his written denials, that the accusations were at the behest of local officers against whom he had taken action as Chief Secretary and they were behind a “malicious” campaign against him. He has said he would fully cooperate with the police and was willing to face trial.