Bihar gangrape: Doctors conducted two-finger test on victim, says NCW report
The Supreme Court had banned the procedure in 2013 and had asked the government to provide better methods to confirm sexual assault.
A report from the National Commission of Women has said that doctors at Bihar's Motihari Sadar Hospital conducted the banned two-finger test on a 17-year-old girl who was allegedly gangraped on June 13. The two-member team that went to East Champaran district on June 25 has submitted its report to the commission's chairperson in Delhi.
"The victim was picked up by the police from her home and taken to Sadar Hospital, where she was made to undergo the two-finger test. The test, the police claims, did not confirm rape. On the surface, this looks like a case that the police is clearly trying to brush under the carpet," said NCW member Sushma Sahu.
No senior police officer or doctor was willing to be quoted, The Telegraph reported.
In 2013, the Supreme Court had banned the two-finger test to ascertain rape. It had held that the test violated a victim's right to privacy and had directed the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault. "Rape survivors are also entitled to medical procedures conducted in a manner that respects their right to consent," the apex court had said.
The minor was reportedly assaulted at gunpoint in Motihari on June 13. Her family said she was brutalised with a wooden stick and pistol. Police have not made any arrests in connection with her assault yet.
Following the report, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi accused the state government of trying to suppress the incident and demanded that a committee of retired police officers be formed to investigate the matter.