In a significant turn of events, the Supreme Court on Monday mandated a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into allegations of torture in police custody concerning protests at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The protests had erupted following the rape and murder of a doctor at the institution.
In a deviation from the Calcutta High Court’s earlier order for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry, the bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan ruled that the investigation should remain under the jurisdiction of senior state IPS officers. The Court justified its decision by expressing the need for local senior officers to handle the probe due to the complexities of the case.
The newly formed SIT, composed as per the names provided by the West Bengal government, is tasked with submitting weekly reports on its findings to the Calcutta High Court. The chief justice of the High Court has also been directed to establish a special bench to oversee these submissions and to consider any requests for further investigations.
The Supreme Court’s intervention came after it temporarily suspended a High Court order from October 8 that initially directed the CBI to take over the investigation. This decision was in response to an appeal by the West Bengal government, which argued that the state police had the capability to conduct the investigation internally.
The allegations of custodial torture were brought forth by two women, Rebeka Khatun Molla and Rama Das, who claimed to have suffered physical abuse while detained at Falta Police Station on September 7. Despite the division bench of the High Court finding merits in a single-judge’s directive for a CBI investigation, the Supreme Court opted for a state-controlled SIT instead.
