Centre assigns probe into Assam woman police officer’s death to CBI

The Assam woman police officer, Junmoni Rabha, died after her car, which she was allegedly driving, had a head-on-collision with a truck on NH 37 in Nagaon district during the wee hours of May 16

Nearly a month after a woman police officer from Assam died in an alleged road accident, the Union government on Wednesday handed over the investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Junmoni Rabha. (File)

Junmoni Rabha, a woman police sub-inspector posted as in-charge of Morikolong outpost in Nagaon district, died during the wee hours of May 16 when her car, which she was allegedly driving, had a head-on-collision with a truck on NH 37 near Sorubhogia in the same district. With doubts being raised by her family and others on circumstances leading to her death, the Assam government on May 20 said that the case would be handed over to the central agency for a fair probe.

“The government of India has assigned the investigation of the case concerning the unfortunate death of Rabha Rabha to CBI,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter on Wednesday to inform the development.

The notification issued by the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions on Wednesday said that all the four cases registered in Assam’s Nagaon and Lakhimpur districts in connection with Rabha’s death would be probed by CBI.

In addition, the central agency would also investigate “any attempt, abetment or conspiracy in relation to or in connection” with the death, the notification issued by Rajeev Kumar Khare, under secretary to the Union government, said.

Following Rabha’s death, it was revealed that on May 5, she had lodged a case at Nagaon police station against nine persons from Nagaon and Lakhimpur districts accusing them of counterfeiting Indian currency notes and duping people by selling them.

As per the FIR lodged under sections of 489A and 489B of IPC, Rabha stated that she had received information about transaction of FICN in Nagaon. On reaching the spot, she nabbed one person but was not able to recover any FICN from him. During interrogation, the person allegedly claimed that he knew someone else who might have FICN.

Based on that a raid was carried out and around ₹2.25 lakh in FICN was recovered and a motorcycle and mobile phone seized. The accused person was found absconding from his house. It was stated in the FIR that the first accused also gave names of seven persons from neighbouring Lakhimpur district who were allegedly involved in manufacturing FICN and selling them to gullible persons as genuine notes.

Rabha was investigating this case and had visited Lakhimpur district as well in that connection when an FIR was lodged against her at North Lakhimpur police station on May 15 (a day prior to her death). The case was filed by one Amina Khatun, a resident of Barchala in Lakhimpur and mother of Ajgar Ali, one of the nine persons named in the first case as accused.

The case lodged under charges of criminal conspiracy, dacoity, wrongful confinement and extortion alleged that during the wee hours of May 6 Rabha reached Khatun’s house along with seven civilians and thrashed her son Ajgar and took him away. It alleged that Rabha took ₹80,000 in cash, gold earrings of Ajgar’s wife and also an SUV belonging to Ajgar’s elder brother.

It further stated that later on May 6, Rabha asked Khatun to give her ₹6 lakh if she wanted her son Ajgar and the SUV back. The complainant alleged that she gave the police officer ₹5.10 lakh in cash and the rest ₹90,000 through online transaction following which Ajgar was released, and the SUV returned. Khatun alleged that Rabha threatened to injure Ajgar in a staged encounter if he disclosed the transaction to anyone.

Rabha died within hours of this FIR getting lodged. The timing of the accident (at 1.45 am on May 16) and Rabha travelling alone in her personal vehicle at the time of the accident raised eyebrows. While it was initially suspected that she might have died in an accident, her mother Sumitra refused to believe the theory and alleged that there was foul play.

On May 16, a case was lodged at Jakhalabanda police station in Nagaon district under sections 279, 427 and 304A of IPC of rash driving and causing death due to rash and negligent act. It stated that Rabha’s car was going from Nagaon towards Jakhalabandha when the truck coming from the opposite direction hit her vehicle. The police officer was stated to have sustained grievous injuries and died later at hospital.

Postmortem report of Rabha’s body, which came out on May 19, indicated multiple abrasions over knees, legs, elbows and hands, laceration over forehead, wound on back of head and underlying bone fracture and blood clotting due to injury and reddish bruise marks over right lower chest and right upper abdomen.

There were also multiple fractures of ribs on both sides, abdominal injuries with intra-abdominal hemorrhage. The report mentioned that all injuries were antemortem (happened prior to death) and ‘time since death is within 24 hours of postmortem examination’.

The report, especially the mention of wound on back of head and fracture, led to speculations that she might have been hit on the back of her head, which seemed unlikely in a head-on collision with another vehicle.

Rabha’s mother lodged an FIR in Jakhalabandha police station on May 19 against police personnel from Nagaon district and other on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and wrongful confinement. In the complaint, she mentioned that Rabha left her police quarter in Nagaon around 6.30pm on May 15 after being summoned by district superintendent of police Leena Doley.

When her mother called her around 10pm, Rabha stated that she was with Abhajyoti Rabha, in-charge of Haibargaon police station in Nagaon, the FIR stated. After that her mother found her phone switched off.

The same night (on May 16), around between 1.30am and 2am, SP Doley and four other police personnel “forcefully entered” Rabha’s government quarter and allegedly took away ₹1.3 lakh belonging to Rabha’s mother and around ₹3 lakh from Rabha’s almirah, it alleged.

It alleged that several other documents were taken by the police team who took Rabha’s mother’s thumb impressions on a blank paper. The complainant said that she came to know about her daughter’s death only the next morning.

The developments along with the allegations made by Rabha’s mother led the Assam Police to recommend handing over the investigation into the death from CID to CBI, which will be probing all the four FIRs.

Since the circumstances leading to Rabha’s death and those after it questioned the role of several senior officers, including police chiefs of Nagaon and Lakhimpur districts, Leena Doley and BM Rajkhowa, and all officers involved in the cases have been removed from their posts in interest of fair probe.

Rabha’s death has revealed the existence of big rackets involved in fake Indian currency notes (FICN) and fake gold and their alleged nexus with police, which Rabha was also stated to be probing. Following her death, a massive crackdown was launched against both rackets across the state in which over 160 persons have been arrested.