CHANDIGARH: A man falsely implicated in the 2016 gangrape of a 22-year-old woman in Sector 29 has moved the Punjab and Haryana high court, seeking Rs 20 lakh as compensation from the Chandigarh Police.Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain issued notices to the UT administration, home secretary, IGP, SP, and ASIs Parminder Singh and Babita, sub-inspector Jaiveer Singh and constables Satish Kumar and Ravi Parkash on the petition filed by Wasim Malik, a resident of Sector 52, for October 21.Malik alleged police arrested him on December 17, 2016, in the rape case registered at Industrial Area police station without any reason and “only to improve its sagging image before citizens”. Police, in its challan filed before the court, had claimed Malik was arrested on the basis of his similarity with the sketch of the accused circulated on the basis of a description given by the rape survivor.Malik’s counsel Hari Chand Arora said police did not verify the location of his mobile phone or check footage of CCTV cameras on roads on which the accused had driven the three-wheeler before arresting him. Police got the petitioner identified by the rape survivor as one of the accused. Later, on March 13 and 14 this year, the accused, Irfan Mohammed and Kamal Hasan were arrested, and were also got identified by the police from the survivor. “This is how Chandigarh Police utilised the rape survivor as a tool in its hands,” argued the counsel.Malik had remained in judicial custody for 16 months from December 17, 2016, to April 2018, when he was granted regular bail in the light of a report received from Central Forensic Research Laboratory of CBI to the effect that “Wasim is excluded as a contributor to the male DNA available on the exhibits”.Malik said despite report from CBI and CFSL having been received on June 9 and the real accused having been arrested in March 2016, police moved an application for withdrawal of prosecution against him only in July 2018, leading to his acquittal on July 20. Malik, in his petition, said he and his family members went through untold suffering during the harrowing period of 16 months. He and his unmarried sister suffered social stigma.