Petitioner Sucharita Das approached the court, claiming that she was taken to the all-women police station in Medinipur town on March 3 during a protest in front of Vidyasagar University. She alleged that she was subjected to physical torture while in custody.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed Murlidhar Sharma, Inspector General of Police (Training) of the state police academy, to submit a report regarding allegations of physical torture made by Leftist student leader Sucharita Das. The alleged incident took place at an all-women police station in Paschim Medinipur district.
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Petitioner Sucharita Das approached the court, claiming that she was taken to the all-women police station in Medinipur town on March 3 during a protest in front of Vidyasagar University. She alleged that she was subjected to physical torture while in custody.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh instructed Sharma to review CCTV footage and all other digital materials available at the police station as part of the investigation. The court ordered that Sharma submit the report by March 25, with the next hearing scheduled for March 26 for consideration of the report.
The court also instructed the officer-in-charge of the all-women police station to file an affidavit in opposition by April 9. The affidavit should address the allegations made by Das. Furthermore, the petitioner was directed to submit an affidavit in reply by April 17.
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Background
A students’ strike was organized on March 5 in colleges and universities across West Bengal by Leftist student unions. This followed incidents of violence during protests at Jadavpur University in Kolkata on March 1 when State Education Minister Bratya Basu visited the university for a meeting.
West Bengal Advocate General Kishore Dutta argued that there is video evidence showing the petitioner’s stay at the police station.
He stated, “She was not subjected to any torture and was served food there.”
Dutta also mentioned, “The petitioner’s lawyer, who met her immediately after, did not raise any such issue then.”
He further clarified that Das was released at around 1:09 am the following day, emphasizing, “It was a matter of preventive detention owing to the agitation at the university and not a formal arrest.”
The court noted that it will hear another similar case by petitioner Susrita Saren on Wednesday regarding comparable allegations.
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