Hanskhali Gangrape & Murder: Calcutta High Court Seeks State's Response In PIL Seeking ₹1 Crore Compensation For Victim's Kin

The Calcutta High Court on Monday sought response from the State government in a Public Interest Litigation petition seeking compensation to the tune of Rs 1 crore for the family members of the minor victim in the Hanshkhali gangrape and murder case which is currently being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

According to reports, a 14-year-old girl belonging to the scheduled caste community died on April 5 after she was allegedly gangraped by the son of a panchayat member owing allegiance to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and others in West Bengal's Nadia district. She was bleeding profusely when she returned home and died later that night, according to her parents who lodged a police complaint on April 10.

The PIL filed by petitioner Anindya Sundar Das alleged that no compensation has yet been provided by the State government to the family members of the deceased victim. Accordingly, the petitioner prayed for the issuance of directions to the West Bengal Legal Services Authority and the Nadia District Legal Services Authority to grant the compensation amount. 

The counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj on Monday that the Court has the power to direct the grant of interim compensation to the family members of the deceased victim as per various rulings of the Supreme Court. 

Taking cognisance of the grievance raised, the Court directed the State government to file an affidavit-in-opposition within a period of 3 weeks. Furthermore, the petitioner was also ordered to file a reply to the State's affidavit-in-opposition before the next date of hearing which is slated to take place on June 28. 

The Court had earlier allowed for the filing of a witness protection application before the competent authority as specified under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 to protect the family members of the victim in the case. The Court had also directed the competent authority to extend psychiatric/ psychological treatment to the family members of the victim to come out of the trauma.

Background

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had been filed wherein it had been alleged that on April 4, the deceased minor girl had been invited in the birthday party by one Brijgopal Goalain, Shyamnagar area in Hanshkhali in Nadia district of West Bengal, who is stated to be the son of an influential political leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) and a member of Gazna Gram Panchayat. It was further alleged that the deceased was gang raped by Brijgopal Goalain with 4-5 other friends.

Opining that a fair investigation is required to instil confidence in the family members of the victim and also the residents of the locality and the State, the Court had underscored,

"..we are of the opinion that in order to have fair investigation in the matter and to instill confidence in the family members of the victim and also the residents of the locality and the State, the investigation should be carried out by the CBI instead of the local police. Hence, we direct the State Investigating Agency to hand over the investigation to the CBI with immediate effect. The State Investigating Agency will hand over all the papers relating to the investigation along with the custody of the accused persons to the CBI forthwith."

Case Title: Anindya Sundar Das v. State of West Bengal