Three Punjab cops suspended for molesting teen-ager

KHANNA - Punjab Police Wednesday suspended three of its officials, including a woman, after a teenaged girl alleged that she was molested inside a police station after she was detained on a complaint of theft, officials said.

The victim, a domestic help, was picked up for questioning by the police Tuesday night after her employer accused her of stealing around Rs.300,000 in cash, a police official said. Police also detained her boyfriend and kept them in the police station for the night.

The girl Wednesday alleged that she was molested by two police officials during the night and a woman official aided them.

The girl is alleging that she was molested by two police officials on duty Tuesday night. We have suspended Station House Officer Varinderjeet Singh and two constables, including a woman, district police chief Sukhminder Singh Mann said here.

The victim is an illiterate girl and does not even know her actual age. She is around 17 or 18 years. Appropriate action will be taken against the accused policemen and we are probing why the girl was kept in police custody at night, he added.