Calcutta HC orders CBI probe in Bengal teen's rape, murder case

Calcutta HC orders CBI probe in Bengal teen's rape, murder case

The CBI should take the case for a “fair investigation into the matter and to instill confidence in the family members of the victim and also the residents of the locality and the state”, the court said in its order.

The Calcutta High Court has ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the alleged rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Bengal’s Nadia district. The police have been asked to hand over the case to the central agency.

The CBI should take the case for a “fair investigation into the matter and to instill confidence in the family members of the victim and also the residents of the locality and the state”, the court said in its order.

The state government has been asked to provide full protection to the victim’s family and witnesses in the case.

The court also pointed out serious lapses in the investigation done by the Bengal Police.

Statements of the witnesses were not videotaped by the police as is required by law, the court said.

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 noted.