Delhi cabinet minister Atishi wrote to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar on Saturday, asking how the officer accused of raping and impregnating a minor was permitted to serve in the WCD department despite past sexual harassment allegations against him, news agency PTI reported. She requested a thorough report on the matter by 5 p.m. on August 28, including the timing of receipt of complaints of harassment by the officer as well as the name of the person who handled them.
According to the Delhi Police, Premoday Khakha, a deputy director in the municipal government's Women and Child Development (WCD) department, raped the child many times between November 2020 and January 2021. Semma Rani, his wife, reportedly gave the girl medication to end her pregnancy.
Khakha was suspended from his employment just before he and his wife were detained in the case on Monday, as directed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In her letter to the chief secretary, Atishi, who is in charge of the Delhi WCD department, inquired whether an investigation into the accusations against the accused was underway and who was the senior-most person aware of this.
"Was any disciplinary action taken based on these complaints?" she added in the letter.
"Several media reports have brought out that the officer of the WCD Department, who has been arrested for the alleged repeated rape of a minor, had previous complaints against him regarding sexual harassment of women. This is an extremely serious issue. Not taking action in time, encourages wrongdoers," the letter by the minister read. "How can senior officers turn a blind eye to such complaints? What makes this incident especially alarming is that the officer in question was working in the Women and Child Department. How could someone accused of sexual harassment of women be allowed to work in a department responsible for the protection and welfare of women and children?" she asked. Underlining that a system that does not take complaints of sexual harassment seriously becomes a party to the crimes against women, Atishi said that perpetrators begin to feel that there are no repercussions to their behaviour and become emboldened. "It puts the women and girls around them at a higher risk. If complaints of sexual harassment against this particular official were in the knowledge of senior officers in the Government of NCT of Delhi, then it raises very serious questions as to how complaints are handled, inquiries done and disciplinary action taken," her letter was quoted by PTI in its report.
If media claims concerning sexual harassment accusations are correct, "the level of indifference by the government machinery in handling such serious complaints and meting [out] disciplinary action is truly shocking", she noted.
"It makes me worried about how many more such incidents might exist without coming to light. Without prompt and strict action being taken on these issues, the perpetrators of crimes against women find encouragement," the minister added.
Earlier, Chief of the Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal wrote to the chief secretary on Thursday, urging that the accused "be terminated with immediate effect." She had also stated that the official had previously been accused of sexual harassment.
"The commission has been informed that four complaints regarding sexual harassment at workplace were lodged against the accused person earlier. It is learnt that three complaints were submitted by three separate women while the fourth complaint was anonymous. All three complainants approached the High Court of Delhi," Maliwal stated in the letter.