Crime

On the very first day of the much awaited trial at the Court, the defense lawyer today bent the Durgapur medical student's alleged gang rape case out of shape citing some 'strong' reasons - why the prosecution insisted submission of the charge-sheet so early, when the country's new legal framework has granted two months of time period for the purpose? 

 

Section 193 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 outlines the procedure for completion of police investigations and filing of charge-sheet for serious offenses like rape (under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha) within two months of the registration of the FIR, incidentally.

 

"Was this hurry a result of police's hyper aggressive bid to wind-up the matter perfunctorily, or out of some political motivation as some political intrusion was witnessed there, this I want to know clearly," said Sekhar Kundu, the defense counsel for Wasef Ali, the rape accused boyfriend of the alleged gang rape victim first year student of the IQ City Medical College here. Kundu said: "They actually prepared this motivated charge-sheet in just 19 days." 

 

Wasef's counsel also claimed at the Special Additional District Judge (Sessions) Court today that his client was unauthorizedly confined and detained in different Police Stations purposely with an intention to grill him on fabricated charges. Kundu, the lawyer demanded that the investigations should be suspended at once  besides, the 'original, unmorphed' indoor CCTV footages of the New Township Police Station, Durgapur Police Station and B - Zone Investigation Centre where his client, he claimed, was detained in rotation unauthorizedly since 11 October midnight hours, should be provided to him, besides the video recording of the Test Identification Parade of the victim girl for scrutiny.

 

Bivas Chatterjee, Special Public Prosecutor in the case tried to defend police saying: "We don't think the footages retrieved from the CCTV cameras were disturbed at all and we have submitted entire reliable evidences in original before the Court." Kundu, soon said: "I don't rely on some of the manufactured evidences." Chatterjee ruled out the charge that the police was in a hurry to file the charge-sheet and claimed: "It's too good for a speedy trial that the charge-sheet was filed quickly and there's no other intention, but to ensure the justice." 

 

On 11 October late evening at a forest patch close to her college campus where she had been with her boyfriend Wasef. Wasef was arrested by the police on the fifth day of the incident on gang rape charges, which later was specified to a rape charge [under Section 64 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Five youths from local Bijra village under New Township Police Station were arrested in two phases on gang rape charges, besides, a charge of dacoity also has been slapped against two youths Riazuddin Sheikh and Safikul Sheikh who had helped recovery of the victim girl’s snatched cellphone from the possession of Firdos Sheikh, one of the accused whom the victim, during her TI parade inside the Durgapur Sub Correctional Home had identified as her rapist on 24 October.

 

The Special ADJ (Sessions), Durgapur, Lokesh Pathak today referred the case to the Court of ADJ (Sessions) for hearing tomorrow.