‘Shocks our conscience’: Supreme Court summons Ghaziabad police chief over 4-year-old’s rape-murder

The court issued notice to the state government, the police, and the two hospitals.

Seeking a status report from the state, the court ordered, “The Commissioner of Police, Ghaziabad, is directed to be remain present along with all original reports. The SHO [Station House Officer of the jurisdictional police station]…shall also remain present. The police authorities are, meanwhile, directed to effect service of notice on the private hospitals listed as Respondents 3 and 4…”.

The court also asked the police and hospitals “to ensure that the identity of the victim child—and, to the extent possible, the identity of her family members—is not disclosed.”

With the counsel stating that the family is being threatened and harassed by the police, the court directed that no coercive action be taken “against the petitioner, his family members, or the witnesses.”

The order noted the facts of the case.

“On March 16, 2026, the neighbour (accused) reached home and took the four-year-old victim with him on the pretext of buying her a chocolate. When they did not return home on time, the petitioner, his elder son, and another neighbour went to search for the daughter. They reached the field behind” a “school and saw the accused emerging fields. He told them the victim was still in the fields. The petitioner found the victim child was lying unconscious, covered in blood. The petitioner took her to a private hospital, where the doctor refused to treat her. He thereafter took her to another private hospital, where too, the victim was also denied admission. Finally, the child was taken to…a government hospital—where she was declared dead on arrival,” the order read.

The bench said, “The most shocking part of this case is that the offence exhibits the complete indifference and the inhuman, insensitive approach of private hospitals as well as the local police.”

‘Child was alive…hospitals refused admission’

Hariharan said that though a First Information Report (FIR) was registered and an arrest made, “now difficulty is they are shielding the hospitals”.

“The child was at that point in time alive. Two hospitals refused admission to the child. This is a matter of grave concern,” he submitted.

Hariharan said that the FIR was registered a day after the incident. The post-mortem report, he added, showed injuries to the girl’s private parts. “There seems to be a blunt object which has been inserted in the private parts…No inquiry has been directed towards that even by the post mortem doctor. He does not opine anything in relation to that. And they consider to investigate the offence, as if that is only relating to a case of murder,” he added.

He further said, “The FIR also says that at the time when the report came to them, the child was dead, which is contrary to what had happened because this FIR is not giving a true reflection of the facts which were there when they went to investigate.”

The senior counsel said that there was a video recording by villagers that showed the child was alive. “That video recording is also available which they are refusing to accept. What they have done instead is, all those neighbours, they have been given notice…saying you are breaching peace. This is the manner in which the whole thing is being done. There is some hush hush going on…It’s ghastly to say the least,” Hariharan added.

‘Shockingly, no offence under Pocso registered’

The court said in its order that the “the trauma” of the petitioner and his family members was “further compounded” when they reported the matter to the local police station. “Instead of taking cognisance of such a horrible offence and trauma, the petitioner and his family members were allegedly locked up and physically assaulted. Even the petitioner’s wife was not spared. They were asked to remain silent about the incident,” the court said.

Noting that the FIR was registered on March 17 under sections 103 (1) and 238(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the court added, “More shockingly, no offence under the POCSO Act or Section 376 IPC [rape] was registered despite that fact that it was an apparent case of sexual assault. Having realised the gravity and seriousness of the offence, the accused was apprehended on March 18. The petitioner and his family, in the process, have lost faith in the local police as well as the two private hospitals.”

The court said that the post-mortem report reveals there were several wounds and blood on the private parts, along with various injuries on the head and other parts of the girl’s body.