Harassed by cops, sisters attempt suicide

BHOPAL: A 13-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh died while her elder sister was battling for life on Thursday after the two attempted suicide following alleged harassment by two constables.

Two police constables, Kanhaiyalal and Arvind Patel, had allegedly caught the elder sister with her boyfriend on May 21 in a deserted area, an Indian wire news agency IANS reported. The cops snatched the mobile phone of the boyfriend and forced him to leave the place, an official said.

They then allegedly molested the girl and clicked some obscene photographs of her using a mobile phone.

The day after, the girl filed a written complaint at the police station stating that the constables had clicked obscene photographs of her and were harassing her. “On receipt of the complaint, I checked the cell phones of the constables but there was nothing objectionable,” a police official said.  “However, the constables were suspended with immediate effect and a departmental enquiry was ordered against them,” he added.

The sisters had told their neighbours that the constables had come to their house on Wednesday and were harassing them, police said.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 28th, 2010.