Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court handed over the probe into the July 12 twin deaths in Khejuri to Bengal CID on Tuesday, a day after it said CBI probes are "a gallery show" in response to a plea for a CBI inquiry by the father of one of the victims.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, who issued the order, asked the additional director general of the state CID to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be headed by an officer of the rank of deputy inspector general.
The judge expressed its lack of confidence in the probe by the East Midnapore police, saying, "It would not be safe to allow the investigation to be continued by local police authorities of Khejuri PS.
" The probe by the local police, he pointed out, led to two contradictory post-mortem reports of one of the victims — Sujit Das. The first autopsy blamed electrocution for the death and the second indicated assault as the cause. | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in KolkataJustice Ghosh held: "Instilling public confidence in an investigation both in respect of the manner of investigation process, the difference in the opinion of the Autopsy Surgeons and the fact that the incident happened simultaneously at the same place which raises a doubt after obtaining the second post-mortem report, I am of the opinion that it would not be safe to allow the investigation to be continued by the local police authorities of Khejuri Police Station.
"The judge heard the matter extensively over the past few days. On Monday, he made it clear that he would take the probe from the local police station and give it to CID, instead of CBI. "CBI is a gallery show right now. If I give it to the CBI, it will just be a gallery show," he said.
The CID has to submit a progress report on September 25, when the matter will again come up for hearing.
Das (22) and Sudhir Chandra Paik (75) died while returning from a social function in Khejuri on July 12. Das's family moved the high court as they were dissatisfied with the autopsy at Tamluk District Hospital, which blamed the death on electrocution. The family stressed that the body bore assault marks and sought a second autopsy, which was allowed by a division bench of the high court.
The report of the second autopsy on Das, performed at SSKM Hospital, stated: "All ante-mortem injuries noted above are sufficient enough to cause death of this individual and are homicidal in nature. These injuries were produced by application of force by hard blunt objects over the affected parts and possibility of multiple assailants cannot be ruled out…"After going through the second report, Justice Ghosh reprimanded the autopsy surgeon at the Tamluk hospital and said the change in the autopsy outcome would have an adversarial effect on the trial.
The judge also held that the police authorities till date did not try to identify the witnesses who saw the fatal assault on the two.
When the judge said on Monday he would hand the case to CID, lawyer Mayukh Mukherjee, appearing for Das's father Sasanka, sought a CBI probe. "Trial cannot start without a proper probe and that is why the case should be transferred to a competent agency," he pleaded. But Justice Ghosh said, "I will not give it to the central agency.