11-Yr Old Raped In WB's Basirhat: Calcutta High Court Calls For Case Diary, Seeks Medical Report

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the State government to submit the case diary along with a status report pertaining to the investigation into the gruesome incident of rape of a minor 11 year old girl at Matia in North 24-Parganas' Basirhat on the next date of hearing that is to take place on April 4. 

The Court further ordered that a report should also be submitted informing the Court about the current medical condition of the minor victim. 

An 11-year-old schoolgirl, who went missing on Thursday, was found unconscious from a near a park in Matia on Friday. Preliminary probe by police revealed that she was raped.

Police took the girl to Basirhat Super Specialty Hospital from where she was shifted to RG Kar Hospital in Calcutta. Police on Saturday arrested an aunt of the girl and accused Shahar Ali Sadar, 20, from Domjur in Howrah. A Basirhat Court has sent the arrested duo to six days of police custody.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed Advocate General S.N Mookherjee to produce before the Court a report in the form of an affidavit containing the stage and status of investigation into the incident. The Bench further called for the case diary to be filed before the Court on the next date of hearing that is slated to take place on April 4. 

"Having regard to the seriousness of the matter, we direct the learned Advocate General to produce the report in the form of affidavit about the stage and status of the investigation along with the case diary. He is also directed to produce a report relating to the medical condition of the victim", the Court ordered. 

The Court further ordered that all possible medical facilities and medical treatment should be extended to the minor victim who is currently undergoing treatment at RG Kar Hospital in Calcutta. 

During the hearing, the Advocate General informed the Court that a Medical Board has been constituted comprising a team of 5 doctors from the hospital. The Court ordered that the constituted Medical Board should comprise of senior doctors of the hospital. 

The head of the hospital may also include experts from other hospitals if the need arises, the Court averred further. The Bench further ordered that the parents of the minor victim must be permitted to visit their daughter subject to medical advice. 

The Court was adjudicating upon a batch of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions filed by practising female advocates of the High Court. 

The petitioners submitted before the Court that the instant rape case is reminiscent of the gruesome Nirbhaya case wherein a a 23-year-old girl was brutally raped in Delhi on December 16, 2012. Apprising the Court about the details of the incident, the petitioners submitted that on March 23, a minor girl had been brutally raped by miscreants and that her body had been discovered by the police authorities on March 24.

The Bench was further informed that the minor girl had been raped several times and that an iron rod had also been inserted in her private parts leading to a rupture of her intestines. The concerned counsels also submitted that due to heavy police posting, no other medical practitioners or activists are being allowed to meet the parents of the minor victim. 

Opining that there is little confidence in the investigation that is being carried out by the State police authorities, the petitioners sought for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident. The petitioners had further prayed for the constitution of a Special Investigating Team ( SIT) to investigate into the incident under the Court's supervision. 

During the hearing, Advocate General S.N Mookherjee appearing for the State government apprised the Court that the minor victim is now conscious and stable and that her medical condition has vastly improved. He further submitted that there is no objection for the release of a medical bulletin on regular intervals informing about the health of the victim. 

He further informed the Bench that the concerned State police authorities have taken all possible steps to investigate into the incident. 

Case Title: Sumitra Bhattacharyya v. State of West Bengal and other connected matters 

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