A 51-year-old deputy director in the Woman and Child Development department of the Delhi government and his wife were arrested on Monday in connection with the rape of minor girl, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said police have arrested the bureaucrat and his 50-year-old wife both in connection with the incident.
"The accused have been identified as Premoday Khakha and his wife Seema Rani, residents of Shakti Enclave in Burari area. Seema is a housewife. The case was registered on August 13," Kalsi said.
Premoday Khakha has been accused of raping a minor girl several times between November 2020 and January 2021, a senior police officer had earlier said. Khakha's wife also allegedly gave the girl medicine to terminate her pregnancy.
Shortly before he was arrested, Khakha was suspended from his post as Assistant Director in the Delhi government's Women and Child Development Department.
Earlier today, Delhi Police detained both Khakha - who faces charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act - and his wife. Both are being interrogated.
The accused met the young girl for the first time at a church and their paths crossed again in 2020 when she was mourning her father's death. The girl was staying with Khakha at his home after her father's death. According to the police, Khakha allegedly raped the girl on multiple occasions between November 2020 and January 2021.
When the girl became pregnant, she told Khakha's wife. The wife then asked her son to get medication to terminate the pregnancy and gave it to the girl.
The matter was brought to light when the girl, who is now in Class XII, narrated her ordeal to a counsellor after being hospitalised this month for panic attacks. She was admitted to St Stephen's Hospital, where she told a counsellor about the abuse.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has labelled the officer a 'predator' and called for his arrest. "... 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 said.
