New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday (September 6) refused to grant bail to the wife of the suspended Delhi government’s Women and Child Development Department officer Premoday Khakha, who is accused of raping a minor girl several times and impregnating her, saying the case “strikes at the root of trust between two families”.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, while dismissing the bail plea of Seema Rani Khakha, the wife of the Premoday Khakha, said that the possibility of influencing witnesses in the case can’t be ruled out at this stage.
The High Court had earlier in February refused to grant default bail to the couple.
Premoday Khakha is accused of raping a minor girl several times and impregnating her
Premoday Khakha is accused of raping the minor victim several times and impregnating her between November 2020 and January 2021. According to the police, the minor girl was daughter of a person known to Premoday Khakha. It has been alleged that Seema Rani Khakha gave the minor victim medicines to terminate her pregnancy.
Premoday Khakha, his wife Seema Rani Khakha are currently lodged in judicial custody
Premoday Khakha and Seema Rani Khakha are currently lodged in judicial custody in the case. They were arrested after the minor girl recorded her statement before a magistrate at a hospital in the national capital.
Ordeal of minor girl was revealed when she shared details of sexual assault incidents with a therapist
The ordeal of the minor girl was revealed when she shared the details of the sexual assault incidents upon her allegedly by Premoday Khakha to a therapist at a hospital in the national capital, where she was receiving treatment for panic attacks.
A case was later registered by the Delhi Police under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sections 376(2)(f) (being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). As per the police, IPC sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) have also been invoked in the case.