Father of Class 8 student killed on picnic moves HC

The police’s failure to probe the death of his minor daughter under mysterious circumstances has forced a father to knock on the doors of the Bombay High Court, seeking a proper investigation.

The police’s failure to probe the death of his minor daughter under mysterious circumstances has forced a father to knock on the doors of the Bombay High Court, seeking a proper investigation.

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A division bench of justice AM Khanwilkar and justice PD Kode has now directed the superintendent of police, Thane Rural, to file an affidavit replying to the petition by the girl’s father, Rajesh.

Rajesh, an auto driver, filed a petition in the high court seeking the transfer of investigation to another agency alleging that his daughter was raped and killed and that the police had not been investigating the case properly.

On August 30, the child, a Class 8 student of Holy Cross High School in Nirmal, Nalasopara (West), had gone with a group of around 150 girls and boys to Tungareshwar Hills as part of a scouts and guides camp organised by the school. Four teachers accompanied them.

Rajesh’s advocates, Shyam Marwadi and Shailesh Redekar, said the girl had gone for a picnic along with other students. They had started out around 9 am. Around 1.30pm, the students realised that the girl was missing. Around 5pm, the teachers were informed by locals that a girl’s body was found in the nearby river.

Marwadi said a post mortem by the Vasai public health centre by a panel of three doctors, established rape.

The police then registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence, but did not add the rape charge.