The murder of four people in a family, including two children, in 2018 in Mahasamund district will be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Chhattisgarh high court has directed.
A single bench of justice Goutam Bhaduri passed the order on Friday over a petition filed by a family member, who alleged that the investigation by Mahasamund police was shoddy.
On May 31, 2018, a woman health worker, Yogmaya Sahu (30), her husband Chaitanya Sahu (31), and their children Kunal (9) and Tanmay (7) were brutally murdered in government housing in Kishanpur village’s sub-health centre’s premises in Mahasamund.
Mahasamund police arrested Dharmendra Bariha, who was subjected to a narco test. Four more accused — then sarpanch (village council chief) of Kishanpur, Suresh Khunte, Fulsingh Yadav, Gaurishankar Kewat and Akhandal Pradhan — were arrested based on revelations by Bariha.
Dissatisfied with the police investigation, Chaitanya Sahu’s father Babulal had approached the High Court, seeking to get the matter further investigated by other agencies, claiming that police had failed to carry out a fair probe in the murders.
“The house where four people were killed was under CCTV surveillance. It is stated the recording of the incident would have been in the CCTV, but police did not seize the Digital Video Recording (DVR) to support the accused. The police officer, Superintendent of Police, came out with a statement that the DVR has been seized, but the case diary or the final report is silent about such seizure,” Raghvendra Pradhan, the petitioner’s lawyer, said in the petition.
{{/usCountry}}“The house where four people were killed was under CCTV surveillance. It is stated the recording of the incident would have been in the CCTV, but police did not seize the Digital Video Recording (DVR) to support the accused. The police officer, Superintendent of Police, came out with a statement that the DVR has been seized, but the case diary or the final report is silent about such seizure,” Raghvendra Pradhan, the petitioner’s lawyer, said in the petition.
{{/usCountry}}The narco analysis had revealed that the accused armed with weapons entered the house, but that aspect was not investigated, the petitioner accused. “Therefore, the police were helping the accused for the reason that the accused were involved in the business of alcohol and drugs for which monthly payment was being made to the police, which is revealed in the narco test,” Pradhan argued.
Finding merit in the petition, the court directed that CBI should further investigate the murders.
“Under the circumstances, prima facie, a perusal of the material seized along with the affidavit of the State do not inspire the confidence of fair investigation. As such, I deem it proper to direct further investigation of the matter by the CBI,” the court said.
“The copy of the DVR which is produced and placed in a sealed cover would be handed over to the CBI. The CBI would further investigate the case and shall proceed in accordance with law within a period of 4 months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” the judge directed on Friday. “It is further made clear that this order would not be construed as a change of circumstance for the accused that are being tried before the sessions court.”