New Delhi, Nov 3 A Delhi court on Tuesday directed the SHO of Parliament Street police station to file an action-taken report on a plea by a woman seeking registration of an FIR against some accused persons, including a police officer, for allegedly sexually assaulting her during a protest.
Judicial Magistrate Kautuk Bharadwaj also directed that CCTV footage of the place of the alleged incident be preserved within three days.
The woman has alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the police officer and others while she was purportedly covering a protest on October 3 as an independent journalist, court sources said.
They said that the plea had been filed alleging that the police failed to take action on her complaint.
The court order on Tuesday asked the station house officer (SHO) to state in a point-wise action-taken report (ATR) whether any complaint had been received from the woman at the police station and, if so, what action was taken.
The court also sought to know whether any cognisable offence was made out against the accused persons after inquiry or investigation, and whether an FIR had been registered and what the status of the probe was.
If no cognisable offence was found, the police must say whether the complainant was informed, the court said.
Counsel for the complainant told the court that the incident, which took place on October 3, was captured on CCTV cameras covering the spot, and sought an urgent direction to preserve the footage.
“In light of the submission and considering the urgency, SHO concerned shall ensure that all necessary steps are taken within three days from the receipt of this order, regarding the preservation of CCTV footage pertaining to the place of incident as well as any other digital evidence including body camera footage,” the court said.
A compliance report on the preservation of the footage must be filed within a week, it added.
“Further, put up for filing of ATR on December 1,” the court said.
(PTI News)
