New Delhi: Delhi Police on Monday said the "unfortunate" incident of stabbing of 19-year-old Meenakshi in Anand Parbat area was presented in an "exaggerated" manner, and appealed to the people not to pay heed to rumours being spread through "misleading advertisement".
"It was wrongly advertised in media that the victim was stabbed 32 times but the post-mortem report has revealed that she was stabbed only eight times," Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) S K Gautam said, adding this fact does not reduce the intensity of the heinous crime though.
"The incident was unnecessarily magnified and it was claimed that it has caused a feeling of insecurity among people, which is wrong," Gautam said.
Following the murder of Meenakshi on July 16, two demonstrations were held at Delhi Police headquarters and Anand Parbat police station in which police detained several persons who did not belong to the victim's area underscoring that the claim of insecurity among people of the area is untrue, he said.
"In the demonstrations at PHQ, on July 19, police had arrested 35 demonstrators for breaking rules and blocking road. Only one among the arrested demonstrators belonged to Anand Parbat area. Similarly, only two demonstrators among the 20 arrested by police after demonstration at Anand Parbat police station belonged to the victim's area," he added.
The officer, however, did not say anything about any action by Delhi Police against Delhi Government advertisement which mentioned that the victim was stabbed 32 times and that there was a feeling of insecurity in the area where she lived.
"We have decided to brought the real facts of the case before the people in the light of the misleading advertisement and we appeal to them that they should not pay heed to rumours," he said.
The death of the girl had deepened the tussle between Delhi Police and Delhi Government with the AAP dispensation intensifying its demand for handing over control of police to the state in the wake of the incident.
Within 24 hours after the murder of Meenakshi, two accused were arrested. Several witnesses have come forward in the case and investigation is going on, he said. Gautam also denied the "rumour" that the victim was complaining against eve-teasing but police did not take any action.
"The police record and PCR calls since 2007 were examined and a total of 69 complaints from the lane where the victim lived were found. Only 4-5 complaints were lodged by the victim's family and in 2013 her mother had lodged a complaint on which action was taken," he said.
Meanwhile, a scheme of Alternative Complaint Resolution (ACR) has been launched in the entire Central Delhi Range in which complaints specifically those by women are redressed at the police stations. About 1,500 complaints were disposed under the scheme on July 25, he said.
Besides, operation 'Bharosa', a door-to-door contact and patrolling campaign participated by concerned police stations has been launched to instil a sense of security among the people of the Range. Over 35,000 girls have also been trained in self defence to boost their confidence, he added.
