Assam IPS officer Gaurav Upadhyay is seen getting caught up badly in a six -year -old sexual harassment case. A special court has ordered the Foxo Act against him to be framed under the respective sections of the Poxo Act and the Indian Penal Code. A copy of this order passed on Wednesday has been made available to PTI on Saturday.
In Karbi Anglong, Special Judge of the Poxo Court, R. Lal, said in his order that two incidents of sexual harassment on the victim took place by the accused. He was the Superintendent of Police of that district at the time of the incident. The first crime took place in SP bungalow in Difu. The second took place in a hotel room, where the victim was living with her mother and brother.
This incident took place in December 2019. At that time, the victim was 14 years old. Based on his mother’s tahrir, the police registered a case in January 2020. After this, the investigation of the case was handed over to the CID, who filed a charge sheet against the IPS officer. Gaurav Upadhyay, a 2012 batch IPS from Uttar Pradesh, is currently the Additional Secretary of the State Transport Department.
Gaurav was Gaurav of Karbi Anglong at the time of the incident
Along with this, Assam is the State Project Director of Inland Water Transport Development Society and Project Officer of Assam Integrated River Basin Management. The judge said that Gaurav Upadhyay was the SP of Karbi Anglong at the time of the incident, so the incident occurred as a police officer within the limits of his jurisdiction and control, which is punishable under Poxo and IPC.
Was this matter intentionally pending?
The court said in its order that on the basis of the victim’s statement, charges are framed under sections 354 and 354A of the IPC. This case has been pending in the pre-testing phase for years, while in such cases, instructions for prompt hearing have been clearly given by the Supreme Court and the legislature. Despite this, the matter has been kept pending continuously.
Charges framed under Poxo Act and IPC
The Special Judge gave the verdict that under these circumstances, charges are framed under Section 10 of the Poxo Act and Section 354, 354A of the IPC. Section 10 of the Poxo Act relates to punishment for severe sexual assault, while Sections 354 and 354A of the IPC are for crimes related to the modesty of a woman or sexual harassment.