Minister wants Aarushi case officer suspended

New Delhi: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury on Thursday demanded an apology from the senior police officer, who made alleged "derogatory remarks" against teenage murder victim Aarushi Talwar and called for his suspension from service.

"Transfer is not enough. Who knows, it could be a plum posting? Inspector General of Police [Meerut range] Gurdarshan Singh should apologise for his irresponsible behaviour and be suspended for using such derogatory language when speaking about a minor," Chowdhury told reporters yesterday.

The minister also attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. "It is disappointing to see that Mayawati is defending the police officer instead of reacting to the language used against a minor girl who is no longer alive," she said.

The Uttar Pradesh police had named family help Hemraj as the prime suspect soon after 14-year-old Aarushi's body was discovered in her parents' apartment in Delhi's Noida suburb on May 16. They backtracked after Hemraj's body was found on the roof of the apartment the next day.

The girl's father, dentist Rajesh Talwar, was arrested on May 23, with the police claiming he killed his daughter in a fit of rage after he objected to her closeness to Hemraj.

The police version of events raised Chowdhury's hackles and she rapped the state police for their "character assassination" of Aarushi.

Chowdhury said it was disappointing to know that "the chief minister, whom I respect a lot for her administrative abilities, has not paid attention towards important areas in her state".

Exploring legal options

She pointed out that only 17 juvenile justice boards (JJB) and only 10 Child Welfare Commissions (CWCs) functioned in the state even in the aftermath of the Nithari incident, again in Noida, with skulls and bones of children being uncovered in a drain in 2006.

"Instead of shielding people, she (Mayawati) should look at her state. There are 71 districts as against just 17 juvenile justice boards... Therefore, instead of levelling charges on others, the UP government should look at these facts first," she added.

"These figures are provided by the UP government only, therefore this is no ploy to play politics," she added.

"We are exploring the legal options. I want to cross-check and go through each and every fact before going for a legal battle," she said.

"We will be persistent in following up to see the action taken against the police officials because this will act as deterrent for others and responsible officers will not treat anything so insensitively," she said.