Kolkata: Calcutta High Court has directed the Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar, to appoint a Deputy Commissioner-rank officer to inquire into allegations of assault and misbehaviour by police personnel at Barasat District Hospital, while also instructing the trial court to ensure expeditious hearing in a case arising from a bus accident in Baguiati last year that claimed the life of a child.
The case concerns the death of Angikar Dasgupta, son of the petitioner, who met with an accident on July 18, 2024 while deboarding from a bus.
The boy sustained critical injuries, allegedly due to rash and negligent driving by the driver and conductor, and later succumbed.
He was taken first to Charnock Hospital and then to Barasat District Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
The petitioner alleged that his son was alive when taken to hospital, that the police registered only lighter, bailable charges against the accused and that he and his relatives were manhandled by police authorities at the hospital.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, while disposing of the writ petition, observed that the sections applied at the FIR stage cannot be treated as final, since police may not be able to assess the full consequences at the time of registration. Stronger charges, the court noted, can be added once evidence justifies them.
The court further recorded that medical experts’ statements collected during investigation contradicted the petitioner’s claim that the child was alive at the time of transfer. It clarified that reports filed under the new procedural code, the BNSS, are only summaries of investigation and not substantive evidence. The petitioner would have the opportunity to present materials before the trial court during evidence.
On the allegation of police misbehaviour, the High Court directed the Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar, to delegate an officer in the rank of Deputy Commissioner to inquire into the complaint and communicate the findings to the petitioner within 60 days. To ensure progress in the main trial, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barasat, has been asked to fix at least one hearing every three months so that proceedings reach a logical conclusion within a reasonable timeframe.