Kolkata, Apr 8 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered transfer of investigation into the unnatural death of a man in West Bengal’s Nadia district after police personnel had allegedly picked him up from his residence in 2023.
The court noted that a murder case that had been registered against the brother of the deceased was earlier transferred to the CBI by the HC.
Passing the order, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh said that for the sake of instilling confidence in the mind of the petitioner for an unbiased and comprehensive inquiry, the investigation into the death of Saukat Mondal requires to be handed over to the CBI.
Justice Ghosh directed that the case diary and other materials related to the investigation into the death of Mondal be handed over to the probe agency by the state police.
The court said in the interest of a proper probe, both the investigations be handled by the same investigating officer of the CBI.
Petitioner Manjura Bibi moved the high court, praying for transfer of the probe to the CBI from the state police in respect of the death of her husband Saukat Mondal.
She alleged that on August 26, 2023, officials of Murutia police station in West Bengal’s Nadia district raided her house in search of Mohan Mondal, who is the brother-in-law of the petitioner.
It was claimed by the petitioner that upon not finding Mondal, her husband was picked up forcibly by the police.
She stated that Saukat Mondal’s body was found about 500 metres away from their residence.
The petitioner alleged that her husband was murdered and thereafter the body was left in a garden.
She claimed to have petitioned the district superintendent of police, seeking action against eight personnel for their complicity in the death of her husband.
As the authorities did not act on the information furnished by her, she approached the high court, the petition said.
By an order dated September 18, 2023, another bench of the high court had directed registration of FIR on the complaint of the woman.
Justice Ghosh noted that the brother-in-law was implicated in a murder case on the very next day – September 19 – by Mururia police station.
The high court had thereafter in December 2023 ordered transfer of investigation into this murder case to the CBI.
Justice Ghosh also noted that an appeal by the West Bengal government challenging this order was disposed of by the Supreme Court, upholding the transfer of investigation into the murder case to the CBI.
The state’s lawyer submitted that Saukat Mondal had died of cardiac arrest and that two Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases, registered in 2017, were pending against him.
The state opposed the prayer for transfer of probe to the CBI from the local police, claiming that they were on the verge of completing the investigation. PTI AMR RBT
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