The Calcutta High Court on Sunday ordered a second post-mortem on the 10-year-old school girl who was murdered after being allegedly gang-raped at Kultuli in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
The high court ordered that the second post-mortem be conducted at AIIMS Hospital in Kalyani on Monday in the presence of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) of Baruipur court. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh also directed the police to register a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The high court was hearing a petition filed by the girl’s parents.
Justice Ghosh further instructed that if the AIIMS in Kalyani doesn’t have enough infrastructure to conduct the post-mortem, it should be done at Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, also located in Kalyani. However, the whole procedure must be done by doctors at AIIMS Kalyani.
The body of the girl is currently kept at Kantapukur morgue.
Protests erupted in the village after the girl’s body was found on Saturday from a marshy land in Jaynagar area, with local people torching a police aid post and vandalising vehicles.
Villagers alleged that the girl was missing since Friday and the police didn’t take any immediate action on their complaint.
"The family members of the girl lodged a complaint at the Mahismari outpost in the area but the police refused to convert it into an FIR and did not act on the complaint immediately. They insisted we go to Jaynagar police station for lodging the FIR and as a result, valuable time was lost in tracing the girl," a family member of the victim was quoted as saying by PTI.
One person has been arrested in the case.
‘Crime has no colour, caste or religion’
Condemning the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed police to file a case under POCSO Act and ensure that the culprits get capital punishment within three months.
"I want the police to register the Kultuli case under the POCSO Act and ensure that the culprits get capital punishment within three months... Crime is crime; there is no religion or caste. Strong action should be taken against the criminals," the chief minister said.
Police should register Kultuli rape-murder case under POCSO Act, ensure culprits get capital punishment in 3 months: CM Mamata Banerjee.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 6, 2024
Media trials in rape cases must stop, this could hamper investigations: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. pic.twitter.com/DioxcFcdFA
She was speaking at the Kolkata Police Body Guard Lines after virtually inaugurating several Durga Pujas.
Banerjee further noted that media trials must stop in rape cases as it could hamper investigations.
