Supreme Court Orders SIT in Gurugram Child Assault Case

The Supreme Court of India sharply criticized the Gurugram Police on Wednesday for serious lapses in investigating an alleged sexual assault on a four-year-old girl, ordering the formation of a Special Investigation Team to take over the probe and issuing show-cause notices to senior officers.

The incident occurred over approximately two months in a residential society in Sector 54, Gurugram, Haryana, where the child was allegedly abused by two female domestic workers and their male accomplice. The girl's parents reported the matter to authorities after she disclosed the ordeal to her mother, leading to the registration of a first information report on February 4 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act at the Sector 53 police station.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi expressed dismay at the police's handling of the case, noting that investigators appeared to have made concerted efforts to shield the accused rather than support the victim. The court highlighted that prima facie evidence pointed to aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Section...