On 9th February, the Calcutta High Court instructed the West Bengal police to conduct a second post-mortem of a 13-year-old minor girl who was raped and murdered in January 2024. The girl went missing at around 5 p.m. on 22nd January and her dead body was discovered on 27th January. On the Hich Court’s order, the body of the victim was exhumed by the police for a second post-mortem, as the original post-mortem report didn’t mention some of the serious injuries, and the police didn’t impose all relevant charges in the case.
The girl’s mother had sought a second post-mortem alleging extreme negligence to the visible injury marks. Despite mentioning possible sexual interference in the report, the police authorities did not provide the samples for consequent chemical examination in this case.
Addressing these lapses, the court has now ordered the re-post-mortem of the exhumes of the dead body and instructed the police to add the IPC sections of rape and other POCSO Act sections in the FIR. Justice Jay Sengupta pronounced this order.
A complaint was filed in the Hariharpara police station in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal on 27th January 2024 by Sarjina Bibi – the mother of the victim minor girl who was abducted on 22nd January from her home. According to the complaint, the girl was found in the cultivated land of Matin Khan of the Dharampur village under the Hariharpara police station.
It is mentioned in the complaint that the victim girl’s face was bloodied and she had suffered a direct attack on her face, her eyes were gouged out, her ears were torn off, and her mandible was slit open as well. However, none of these injuries were mentioned in the post-mortem report. Additionally, the police did not provide the samples for the consequent chemical examination despite the post-mortem report mentioning the possibility of sexual interference. The post-mortem was carried out at the Murshidabad Medical College & Hospital by Dr Swapan Kumar Adhikari, Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology in the institute.
Notably, the police imposed sections 363, 302, and 34 of the IPC against accused Roni Khan (son of Rintu Khan alias Kalu), Rintu Khan alias Kalu (son of Fojol Khan), and Rasheeda Bibi (wife of Rintu Khan alias Kalu) all residents of the Dharampur village. The court has now ordered the police to add relevant sections of the POCSO Act and rape crime sections of the IPC in the FIR. The court has also ordered a second post-mortem in this case.
The court said in the order, “The petitioner’s minor daughter was raped and brutally murdered by the accused father and son duo. The said duo had earlier committed a similar offence. After the body was detected, it was found that the body was seriously disfigured. Some portions of the eyes and face were gouged out. This has not been reflected in the post-mortem report. That apart, the investigating agency had not imputed more serious charges under the IPC as well as the POCSO Act.”
The court further said, “First, from the inquest and the post-mortem report it is evident that the victim was subjected to sexual assault, then one wonders why were more serious charges under the provisions of law including the Penal Code and the POCSO Act not added. Let the investigating officer have such provisions added and proceed with the investigation. The inquest report supports the contention of the petitioner that the face of the victim was severely disfigured. Merely stating that the portions of the epidermis were peeled off, as in the post-mortem report, perhaps does not give a correct picture of the dead body.”
Instructing the police in this regard, the court said in its order, “In view of the same, let the investigating agency conduct the second post-mortem over the dead body after exhuming the same. The same be done by an expert of the SSKM Hospital, Kolkata and be videographed. Let a report about the progress of the investigation be filed by the State on the next date of hearing. The State shall produce the case diary on the next date.”
Based on this order, the body of the girl was exhumed on 16th February and then sent to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata for a second post-mortem examination. The court has ordered the second autopsy report to be submitted by 6 March. The next hearing in this matter is listed on 6th March 2024.
Sarjina Bibi – the mother of the victim minor girl had written to the Murshidabad SP seeking this second post-mortem. In her complaint, she wrote, “The post-mortem report of my daughter has left out multiple injuries that were sustained by her. It is stated that my daughter had suffered a direct attack on her face, her eyes were gouged out, her ears were torn off, and her mandible was slit open as well. None of these injuries were mentioned in the post-mortem report. It is also stated that my daughter was raped before she was killed horrifically, yet no examination for rape was conducted. Therefore, it is my humble request that another post-mortem examination be conducted for my daughter, so that the correct conclusions may be reached, and my daughter receives proper justice.”
She added, “When we found my daughter’s body, multiple videos and pictures were taken and the post-mortem report does not match or even mention the other injuries on her body. The said pictures and videos were taken by almost everyone in my entire neighbourhood. I am attaching the said post-mortem report and the pictures of my daughter’s dead body when it was discovered, for your reference. Therefore, it is my humble request that another post-mortem examination be conducted for my daughter, so that the correct conclusions may be reached. I request you to take out my daughter’s body from its burial site, and arrange for a proper post-mortem examination process with videography, so that the results are not altered unduly, and my daughter receives proper justice.”
Sangita Chakraborty – the national president of the SS Human Rights Foundation in West Bengal – had also complained to the SP of the Murshidabad district in this regard. In her complaint, she alleged, “The said post-mortem report deliberately ignores and does not mention multiple other injuries that were sustained by the victim, due to the collusion of a) Dr Swapan Kumar Adhikari, Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, b) Professor (Dr.) Amit Dan, Principal, c) Dr Amiya Kumar Bera, Medical Superintendent cum Vice Principal, Murshidabad Medical College & Hospital, Berhampore, Murshidabad, and d) the Inspector-in-charge, Hariharpara Police Station, District – Murshidabad.”
She added, “The said persons are deliberately hiding and covering up the heinousness of the crime that has been committed against the 13-year-old victim girl. The police authorities are working hand in glove with the relevant persons from the Murshidabad Medical College & Hospital, and the accused persons to allow them to escape the clutches of the law.”
Demanding a second post-mortem and chemical examination for verifying the rape crime, she added, “The police authorities are keeping the entire incident under wraps, and no media has even been involved in this case, which begs the question as to whether the Inspector-in-charge is in cohorts with the accused persons being Roni Khan, Rintu Khan alias Kalu, and Rasheeda Bibi, and is benefiting from the theft that is being committed.”
The court order, FIR, original post-mortem report, and letters to the SP by petitioner and human rights activist are available with OpIndia.
History of the case
The incident took place in the Hariharpara area of district Murshidabad. The 13-year-old minor girl went missing on 26th January 2024 after she left at around 8 PM. When she did not return, her family members launched a search operation. According to Anand Bazaar Patrika’s report, they found a note in her room that said, “Don’t worry”. The next day, her mangled dead body was recovered from mustard fields in the village some distance away from her home. She had a rope around her neck, her eyes were gouged out, and her breasts were cut off.
The family of the victim alleged that a boy from the village kidnapped her on the pretext of marriage. He then raped and physically assaulted her. Based on the complaint, police registered a case against two suspects, and arrested them, a minor boy and his father.
The police prepared a detailed panchnama, which is the document prepared by police recording the details of the crime scene.
The report said that there were multiple injury marks on the body, there was a noose around the neck, adding that she was possibly raped. These details matched with the details provided in the complaint filed by the girl’s family.
The body of the deceased girl was sent to Murshidabad Medical College, where the post-mortem was conducted. However, the post-mortem report had glaring differences from the initial police report. The post-mortem report didn’t mention many of the crucial details mentioned in the police inquest report.
It was alleged that the minor was raped and killed. The accused father-son duo made holes in the dead body and poured acid in it to speed up the rotting process. However, the allegations were mentioned in the investigation report but not in the postmortem report. The investigation report, case diary and autopsy report had different facts about the case.
After this, the girl’s family approached the Calcutta High Court. After hearing the case, the High Court ordered to exhume the body and do a post-mortem again. The court ordered that the post-mortem will be done by the doctors of SSKM Hospital in Kolkata.