Rape survivor accuses magistrate of sexual abuse in Tripura

Agartala: Following an allegation by a rape survivor that a magistrate sexually abused her inside his chamber in Tripura, a three-member panel headed by district and Sessions court judge started an investigation into the matter, PTI reported.

According to the survivor, the abuse incident happened on February 16 after she went to the first-class judicial magistrate's chamber to get her statement recorded in the rape case.

She said in her complaint to the additional district and sessions judge Kamalpur, "I went to the chamber of the first class judicial magistrate to get my statement recorded on February 16. When I was about to give my statement, the judge groped me. I rushed out of his chamber and informed the lawyers and my husband about the incident."

The survivor's husband also filed a separate complaint with the Kamalpur Bar Association.

The panel, which is probing the matter of District and Sessions Judge Gautam Sarkar, along with Chief Judicial Magistrate Satyajit Das, went to visit Kamalpur's additional district and sessions judge's office to investigate the matter.

PTI was told by the secretary of the advocate body, Shibendra Dasgupta, "The three-member panel headed by the district and sessions judge also met the members of Kamalpur Bar Association on the court premises and sought our point of view on the allegations of the woman. We placed our points before the panel."

Meanwhile, Registrar General of Tripura High Court, V Pandey, responded to the allegation against the judge, "We have not yet received any official complaint regarding the issue. Like other people of the state, I too came to know about it from the media and social media platforms. Once we receive a complaint in a proper format, we will definitely take appropriate action."