The Calcutta government is facing a backlash over the alleged rape of a civil servant’s wife in the state’s capital in July 2024. The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered that the investigation into the alleged rape of a civil servant’s wife, who is posted outside West Bengal, be transferred to a deputy commissioner-level officer.
The court also called back the bail granted to the accused previously by a lower court and instructed the Kolkata Police commissioner to take action against the three police officers for negligence in handling the investigation.
Ordering the transfer of the investigation, Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj of Calcutta High Court, observed: ‘The case was registered under less severe sections despite the gravity of offences’. The High Court passed the order after the victim said that despite being raped twice within a span of seven hours at her residence, the accused was charged with the lesser offence. Furthermore, a lower court granted him bail the day after his arrest.
The judge also directed the present investigation officer to submit all the documents and the case diary to the deputy commissioner within three days. The incident that occurred on July 14 and 15, an IAS officer’s wife was allegedly raped at gunpoint in the Lake Thana area while the officer was stationed outside the state. The victim, who works in a private firm, alleged that she was raped at gunpoint twice in her own home, first at 11:30 pm on July 14, and again at 6:30 am the next day.
Furthermore, the victim had approached the High Court accusing the police of tampering with the charge sheet. The victim said in her petition that on July 15, she went to Lake police station to file a complaint, but there was an unexplained delay in processing her complaint.
She was reportedly subjected to coercion on the same day and intimidation by the son and wife of the accused, who were allegedly brought to the station by police officers in an attempt to pressure her into withdrawing her complaint. There has been investigation of the CCTV footage from the Lake police station covering the period from 4 pm to 8 pm on that day.
It was claimed that the victim had to undergo a medical examination at a government facility on her own initiative, as the police failed to arrange one.
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