Hanskhali Gangrape & Murder: Plea In Calcutta High Court Seeks Transfer Of Trial From Nadia To Kolkata, CBI Files Status Report

The Calcutta High Court on Monday took on record the latest status report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) pertaining to the Hanshkhali gangrape and murder case. 

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.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj took on record the progress report filed by the CBI indicating the steps undertaken in the investigation. The Court also perused the progress report and handed it back to the CBI. 

Furthermore, a plea has been filed before the Court by one Anindya Sundar Das seeking transfer of the criminal case from Nadia district court to Kolkata for the sake of a free and fair trial. The concerned counsel submitted that such a transfer of the case is required considering the fact that the accused persons had been enlarged on bail. 

To this, the Chief Justice orally remarked that the counsel should first indicate some material to show that a free and fair trial is not possible without transferring the case from Nadia to Kolkata. 

Accordingly, the Court directed the petitioner to supply legible copies of the petition to all concerned parties. Response to the plea was also ordered to be filed before the next date of hearing which is slated to take on May 20. 

The Court further underscored that the identity of the victim should not be disclosed by any of the concerned authorities or persons. 

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."

Earlier, the concerned authorities had been ordered to extend full protection to the family members of the victim and witnesses of the case. The CBI had also been ordered to furnish a report about the progress of investigation on the next date of hearing which is slated to take place on May 2.

On Friday, the CBI arrested two more persons including a TMC panchayat leader, who is the father of the prime accused, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six.

Case Title: Shaista Afreen and Others v. The State of West Bengal and Others

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