Mumbai, Apr 20 (PTI) The Bombay High Court has transferred the probe into the death of a woman, allegedly due to dowry harassment in 2023, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), noting glaring discrepancies in the police investigation.
A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Sandesh Patil passed the order on a plea filed by the victim’s father, who raised concerns over a “lackadaisical” investigation by the Kashimira police in Thane district.
The court, in its April 16 order, held that there were several discrepancies in the police probe and the chargesheet.
The discrepancies in the probe are significant, it said, adding the probe needs to be transferred to the CBI for a “fair and effective investigation”.
The victim’s father had lodged a complaint in February 2023 at the Kashimira police station under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Dowry Prohibition Act against her husband and in-laws.
As per the plea, the victim had married in November 2021 and started living with her husband and in-laws from May 2022.
However, the petitioner soon learned that his daughter was being harassed for dowry and had been assaulted on several occasions, leading to a miscarriage of pregnancy.
On February 23, 2023, the petitioner was informed that his daughter had committed suicide, and he approached the police after he found injury marks on her body.
The petitioner claimed that the police reluctantly registered a first information report (FIR) and did not even book the accused for murder.
He also stated that while his son-in-law absconded, his family members were arrested and later released on bail.
The high court took note of the statement by the medical officer who had conducted the victim’s postmortem, in which she had said that she cannot form an opinion as to whether it was suicide or homicide, as she does not have the expertise in forensic science.
The medical officer had requested the police to carry out further process through the forensic department of the state-run JJ hospital, but the same was not done, the bench noted.
The court directed the Kashimira police station to hand over all documents related to the probe to the CBI immediately, saying the central agency shall carry out the investigation efficiently. PTI SP ARU
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