Premoday Khakha, the Delhi government official accused of raping a teen girl multiple times has been arrested, police said Monday.
His wife – accused of giving the teen abortion medication after her husband impregnated her – has also been arrested.
“We have arrested two accused in connection with this case. One of them is Premoday Khakha, 51… the second is his wife Seema Rani, 50. We have arrested Seema Rani as she was aware of the incident and (was) effective in getting the abortion,” senior Delhi Police officer Sagar Singh Khalsi said.
Shortly before he was arrested, Khakha was suspended from his post as Assistant Director in the Delhi government’s Women and Child Development Department.
Khakha’s suspension was confirmed hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party ripped into Delhi Police – which reports to the union government controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party – over the delay in arresting him.
The AAP said the ‘failure to arrest the officer is the worst part of this case’ and demanded Khakha be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law.
Delhi minister Atishi has called on police to act as swiftly as Kejriwal did to suspend Khakha. “…a shocking incident as this accused was an officer in the Women and Child Department… I hope Delhi Police will do the proceedings fast,” she said.
Earlier today police detained Khakha – who faces charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act – and his wife. Both were interrogated.
Khakha is accused of raping the minor daughter of his friend multiple times. The young girl, then 14 years old, became pregnant during this period and Khakha’s wife allegedly gave her abortion pills while covering for her husband.
The rapes occurred between November 2020 and January 2021 – when the girl was living with Khakha and his wife; this was after her father died.
The rapes were revealed this month after the girl narrated her ordeal to a therapist at Delhi’s St Stephen’s Hospital, where she was receiving treatment for panic attacks. The girl was provided therapy during which she told doctors about the repeated sexual assault she faced from her father’s friend – someone she called ‘mama’ (uncle).
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal has labelled Khakha a ‘predator’. “… if the one whose job was to protect the daughters turns into a predator, then where will the girls go! Must be arrested soon!” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).