The Assam Chief Minister – Himanta Biswa Sarma noted that a magistrate was held for “compromising his responsibility” in a case of sexual assault and murdering a 13-year-old girl in Darrang district.
The victim, who was working as a domestic help, was found dead in the residence of her boss.
Besides the main accused, a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel, several other government employees – the then Superintendent of Police (SP), an additional SP, the Officer in Charge (OC) of the police station, and three doctors – were already arrested in the case.
Addressing a press conference, the chief minister lauded the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for investigating the case in a highly professional and scientific manner.
“The magistrate was arrested today. The CID has already arrested the SP, Additional SP (of the district), the OC of Dhula police station and three doctors who had conducted the first post-mortem examination,” he said on Friday.
The Additional Director General of Police (CID) A Y V Krishna said that the arrested government officials did not follow the norms and gave false reports to close the case as an incident of suicide.
The local magistrate – Ashirvad Hazarika, noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the case.
Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, said that this case was significant in the history of Assam Police as a fresh probe began over a month after performing the last rites of the victim.
“This is a rare case in which the body was exhumed and a second post-mortem examination was conducted. We were lucky that the victim was a Christian girl and her body was buried. The way the CID collected forensic and scientific evidence, the entire probe gave a new dimension to the investigation process in Assam Police,” he said.
The chief minister lamented that the probe exposed a nexus involving the then SP, ASP, OC, magistrate and government doctors. On Thursday, the suspended SP Raj Mohan Ray was arrested for allegedly taking Rs 2 lakh as a bribe to dilute the case.
Ray had received the money through the then Officer-in-Charge of Dhula police station Utpal Borah who was arrested by the CID on October 31.
The rape and murder case led to outrage in the state. The chief minister visited the girl’s family on August 12 following their allegations that the police displayed extreme dereliction of duty in collecting evidence.
Addressing the media persons, the additional DGP (CID) remarked that a detailed probe and evidence have established the accused men’s offences of molestation, murder, destruction of evidence and attempt to rape under several sections of the IPC and POCSO Act.
