In the Kolkata Law College gang rape case, the Calcutta High Court has asked the government to submit a status report on the investigation. Meanwhile, the victim’s family wants to join the PIL demanding a CBI probe.
The Calcutta High Court instructed the West Bengal government to submit an affidavit detailing the status of the investigation into the alleged gang rape of a first-year student at South Calcutta Law College.
A division bench headed by Justice Soumen Sen also mandated the state to present the case diary during the next hearing on July 10.
This directive was issued while the court was reviewing three public interest litigations related to the incident, which reportedly occurred on the evening of June 25. The individuals accused include alumnus Monojit Mishra and two senior students, Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee.
The family of the law college student, who was a victim of gang-rape at her college in Kasba, South Kolkata, last week, has approached the Calcutta High Court, requesting to be included as a party in the public interest litigation (PIL) that seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the incident.
The first hearing on the PIL is scheduled for later on Thursday before a division bench of the court.
The petitioners, primarily advocates practicing at the Calcutta High Court, did not include the victim’s family in their petition. They argued that since they had no claims against the law student, who is a victim in this case, her family members were not made parties to the petition.
The victim’s family contends that as she is a member of their family, they have the right to present their perspective in the matter, which is why they seek to be included in the case. Currently, the family prefers to trust the Kolkata Police’s investigation for the time being rather than immediately pursuing a CBI inquiry.
On Wednesday, the investigation was transferred to the Detective Department of Kolkata Police.
Initially, the local Kasba Police station had launched the investigation, quickly arresting the three main accused within 24 hours of the victim’s complaint lodged on the evening of June 25. A special investigating team (SIT), led by an officer of the Assistant Commissioner of Police rank, was later formed to look into the case.
However, on Wednesday, higher authorities in the city police decided to assign the investigation to the Detective Department.
The PIL calling for a CBI inquiry was filed before the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das on June 30, with the petitioners also requesting a fast-track hearing. On that date, the division bench instructed the petitioners to issue notices to the relevant parties. Notices were subsequently sent by the petitioners to all parties involved, except for the victim’s family.
Monojit Mishra is alleged to have raped the student in the college guard’s room, while Ahmed and Mukherjee are accused of aiding him in the act.
The 24-year-old victim arrived at the college around noon on the same day to fill out examination forms and initially waited in the college union room. According to her complaint, the main accused instructed that the main gate be locked, after which she was allegedly raped in the security guard’s room on campus.
In her complaint, the woman reported that the main accused pressured her to marry him, but she refused, citing an existing relationship. She alleged that he then threatened to harm her boyfriend and involve her parents in false cases before confining her at the college and assaulting her, resulting in injuries despite her attempts to resist.