Pune: Dehu Road police station has received severe criticism after it refused to register a complaint of domestic violence. A 15-year-old girl approached the police station to register a case of domestic violence against her husband and in laws. The police, instead of sending the girl for medical examination, asked her to return to her husband. This was not over. The policemen even gave her cash for medical treatment.

Incidentally, the 15-year-old girl was accompanied by a social activist in the police station. The social activist observed that the girl was beaten mercilessly. The minor girl revealed her ordeal to Nasima Maniyar. The minor girl said she was unable to bear the torture her husband and in laws imparted on her at their residence at Kalekhadak in Wakad.

Maniyar then took her for medical observation by medical professional and Human Rights activist Dr Yamini Adbe.

Dr Yamini confirmed that there were several marks on 15-year-old girl’s body, including her private parts, which clearly indicated that she was being brutalised frequently.

The girl was later presented before the Child Welfare Committee who directed a medical examination of the minor at Sassoon Hospital.

Different NGOs and Child Rights activists have condemned the police for gross negligence in this case.

Anuradha Sahasrabudhhe, a Child Rights activist of NGO Childline, said that stringent action should be taken against policemen who advised the girl to return to her husband while rejecting her plea for help and protection.

The child rights activists say the police should have sent the girl for medical examination and registered a case under Child Marriage Act. They further demand that police should also register a case under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act 2005 against her husband and in laws.

Adamant police demanded evidence before registering a complaint

The police denied the allegation by saying that it can not register a case only on the basis complainant’s claim that she was a minor. Ironically, police demanded evidence to prove that the complainant was a minor.