HC seeks status report; victim’s family ‘reposes faith’ in Kolkata Police probe

Kolkata: The family members of the Kasba law college rape victim expressed their faith on the Kolkata Police while the the Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the state government to submit a ‘status report on the investigation into the alleged gangrape’.

While speaking to a journalist of a vernacular news channel, the father of the student mentioned that they have faith in the police and do not want any other agency to probe.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, police seized the Governing Body (GB) register as part of the ongoing investigation. Officers are examining the records to determine whether any decisions were taken regarding the accused Monojit Mishra and the two other accused students.

In addition, police have added charges of criminal intimidation, abduction, causing grievous hurt using dangerous weapons or means, and voyeurism to the case.

Apart from the investigation, two PILs seeking a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or the CBI, which were filed earlier, were heard by the Division Bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das De.

The petitioners raised concerns over the alleged “unfettered access” of former students to the campus, particularly beyond college hours, lack of CCTV surveillance and the institution’s failure to uphold Constitutional protections under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21.

After the hearing, the bench sought a report from the police regarding updates in the investigation, along with the case diary. On July 10, the bench will hear the matter again. Apart from submitting the report and the case diary, the High Court also directed that all media houses be advised not to disclose the identity of the survivor in any form.

The Detective Department has taken over the investigation of the Kasba law college rape case, with the case diary and all related documents handed over to the new investigating officer.