Taking suo motu cognisance of the killing of a 16-year-old girl by her alleged stalker in Dumka, the Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday summoned director general of police Neeraj Sinha and sought details of the incident.
The division bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan asked the DGP Sinha, who was present in person in the court, for a status report.
“Besides seeking details of the medical facilities provided to the victim and if the hospitals she was taken to were equipped to treat burn cases, the bench directed the DGP to ensure security of her family and said it would also be monitoring the ongoing investigation in the case,” said a lawyer who was part of the proceedings.
On August 23, a youth named Mohammed Shahrukh, who had allegedly been stalking the 16-year-old girl, poured petrol on her from outside the window of her room while she was asleep and set her on fire. The girl, who apparently spurned Shahrukh’s advances that angered him, succumbed to her injuries on Sunday.
While Shahrukh was arrested on the day of the incident, his accomplice Naeem Khan was arrested on Monday last.
{{/usCountry}}While Shahrukh was arrested on the day of the incident, his accomplice Naeem Khan was arrested on Monday last.
{{/usCountry}}“A 10-member special investigation team (SIT), headed by Dumka superintendent of police (SP) Amber Lakra, has been formed to probe the entire case,” said ML Meena, additional director general (ADG) of police (headquarters), who visited Dumka and met family members of the victim.
The incident has led to widespread protests and demands of speedy trial and death penalty for the accused.
As per directions from chief minister Hemant Soren, Dumka district administration provided financial support of ₹10 lakh to the victim’s family on Monday.
Meanwhile, top Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday demanded justice for the victim, who was a class 12 student.
“Jharkhand — The incident of ruthless murder of a girl studying in 12th is heart-wrenching. Criminals should be given punishment at the earliest. For crime prevention and justice, it is necessary that strict and speedy legal process should be completed in incidents of crime against women,” Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.
Rahul, in his tweet in Hindi, said the cruelty meted out to the teenager has made every Indian’s head bow in shame.
Congress is a key constituent of the coalition government in Jharkhand led by Soren.
Jharkhand BJP chief Deepak Prakash has demanded that the case to be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).