Man found dead after police pick-up, HC transfers probe to CBI

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of investigation into the unnatural death of a man in Nadia district after police personnel had allegedly picked him up from his residence in 2023.

The bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh said that for the sake of instilling confidence in the mind of the petitioner for an unbiased and comprehensive inquiry, the investigation requires to be handed over to the CBI.

The state police were directed to hand over the case diary and other materials related to the investigation to the CBI.

The court noted that a murder case that had been registered against the brother of the deceased was earlier transferred to the CBI by the HC. The court said in the interest of a proper probe, both the investigations be handled by the same investigating officer of the CBI.

The state opposed the probe transfer from the local police, claiming that they were on the verge of completing the investigation.

Petitioner Manjura Bibi prayed for transfer of the probe to the CBI in respect of the death of her husband Saukat Mondal. It was alleged that on August 26, 2023, officials of Murutia police station in Nadia district raided her house in search of Mohan Mondal, her brother-in-law.

On not finding him, her husband Saukat was picked up forcibly by the police.

She claimed that Saukat’s body was found about 500 metres away from their residence and alleged her husband was murdered and thereafter his body was left in a garden. The petitioner alleged police inaction against the eight police personnel By an order dated September 18, 2023, another bench of the high court had directed registration of FIR on the complaint of the woman. The state’s lawyer submitted that Saukat Mondal had died of cardiac arrest and that two narcotic cases were pending against him.

Justice Ghosh noted that the brother-in-law was implicated in a murder case on the very next day — September 19 — by Murutia Police Station.

In December 2023, the probe in this case was transferred to the CBI. The court noted that an appeal by the state government challenging this order was disposed of by the Supreme Court, upholding the probe transfer to the CBI.