Sarita committed suicide at the Haryana Police’s headquarters on Monday.

Both Head Constable Balraj and Constable Silk Ram belong to the CIA unit, set up to investigate special crimes and major murders. Called the CIA by residents and officers of Rohtak, it comprises 25 police officers with one inspector holding charge.

While four teams of Rohtak police are hunting for Balraj and Silk Ram, the inspector who was in-charge at the time of the rape, Ram Kumar, was transferred a week ago.

In her FIR, Sarita charged Balraj and Silk Ram with implicating her husband in a motorcycle theft case, asking her for “sexual favours” for his release, and raping her when she refused. According to her, Balraj called her on April 10 evening to the CIA (1st) office from her Saini Anand Pura residence. Her husband, arrested earlier in the day, had been produced before a court in Jhajjar and handed over to the Beri police, but Sarita didn’t know that.

She added that she was raped in the first room at the entrance of the CIA office, and that though five-six more officers were present in the building at the time, they apparently didn’t realise what was happening.

The FIR was lodged on May 31, after DSP City Dhiraj Setia intervened. Sarita initially named Balraj only, adding Silk Ram’s name after an identification parade two days later.

Incidentally, Rohtak SP Hanif Qureshi admits that the two were putting pressure on Sarita to withdraw the rape case. “Their statements were also taken, and they told us that she wanted to create pressure against the police with such allegations,” he told Newsline. Qureshi denied that they had demanded bribe from Sarita for releasing her husband.

What the police are questioning is that why Sarita registered a complaint two months later, on May 29. “She did not have a satisfactory answer as to why she reported the matter so late,” says Qureshi.

In their early 30s, Balraj and Silkram were deployed in the CIA six months ago. Balraj, a native of Katwal village (Sonepat), has been in the Haryana Police for 17 years and Silk Ram for 14 years. Both are married and have children.

Subhash was arrested in connection with a case of motorcycle theft, registered at the Beri Police Station in October 2007. He was reportedly arrested by Head Constable Ramphal of the CIA — the Investigating Officer in the case— and Balraj and Silk Ram with the motorcycle near the Jind by-pass.

Ramphal had reportedly gone home when the alleged rape took place.

Officers at the CIA insist the charges are false. “It is not possible that our colleagues did this in a room at the office. Eight to 10 persons are always present here. Why did she not inform anybody for so long, or even her husband when she used to go to meet him in jail,” asked Bhim Singh, the present in-charge of the CIA.

Now, cases relating to sexual harassment by cops to be probed by state crime bureau