Calcutta HC Orders CBI Probe Into Alleged Rape, Murder of Minor in West Bengal

A still from an anti-rape protest. Image used for representational purposes.

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The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, 12 April, ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in West Bengal's Hanskhali village.

The police have been asked to hand over case immediately. This is the sixth case transferred to the CBI in less than three weeks in West Bengal.

The CBI has been asked to submit its preliminary investigation report before the court on 2 May, reported News18.

Explaining its reasons for handing the case over to the CBI, the court said it was necessary to conduct a fair investigation into the matter and to instill confidence in the family members of the victim, the residents of the locality, and the state, India Today reported.

Court Pulls Up State Govt for Lapses During Probe

The court also pulled up the West Bengal government for "serious lapses" in its investigation.

"The victim was found on the road bleeding and was taken away by someone. But the blood-stained mud has not been seized from the spot. No crime scene reconstruction of the incident has been done. The chemical test to trace the bloodstains was not done. The clothes of the victim have not been seized for DNA sampling. The clothes of the accused, which he was wearing at the time of the incident, have not been seized," the court said.

The court added that the bed sheet, which was used at the time of the commission of the alleged offence and may be filled with blood stains, was not seized by the West Bengal police.

The bench also noted that the accused in the matter was the son of a leader from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), saying, "We cannot lose sight of the fact that the accused is the son of a powerful leader of the ruling party and that there is material available in the case diary indicating that the family members of the victim have been threatened."

The court further criticised the probe undertaken by the state police, saying that the absence of a Medico-legal Case (MLC), post-mortem report, or a death certificate created suspicion about "an attempt to suppress the entire incident and to wipe out the evidence," according to India Today.

Background

Brajagopal Goyala, the son of a local panchayat member of the TMC, was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on 10 April for allegedly gang-raping a minor girl at a birthday party in the state's Hanskhali village.

The bereaved parents of the 14-year-old had filed a complaint on 9 April, four days after the purported incident occurred. The complaint mentioned that the minor went to Goyala's house for a birthday party, returned home unwell, and died soon after that.

"Our daughter was bleeding profusely and had severe abdominal pain after she came back from the party at the residence of the local TMC leader's son, and before we could take her to hospital, she died," the complaint stated.

The family also alleged that the minor's body was forcibly taken for cremation even before the death certificate could be issued.

Reacting to the incident on Monday, WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that the child commission would probe the matter.

(With inputs from India Today and News18.)