Calcutta High Court Directs Police To Probe Allegations Of Sexual Assault, Blackmail Leading To Student's Suicide At Medical College
The Calcutta High Court has directed the police to conduct a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 23-year-old MBBS student at Murshidabad Medical College, who died by suicide on the college campus.The victim's father, who is also a police officer and presently posted at Chandigarh, filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking a thorough investigation into...
The Calcutta High Court has directed the police to conduct a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 23-year-old MBBS student at Murshidabad Medical College, who died by suicide on the college campus.
The victim's father, who is also a police officer and presently posted at Chandigarh, filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking a thorough investigation into the unnatural death of his daughter.
It was stated that the incident, which occurred under suspicious circumstances, prompted the father to lodge a complaint under Section 306 of the IPC on 03/07/2023. However, despite repeated follow-ups, no substantial progress was made by the local authorities.
The petitioner is stated to have conducted an independent inquiry and uncovered claims of blackmail and the alleged circulation of an intimate video involving his daughter.
Aggrieved by the police's inaction, the father approached the High Court, demanding an impartial and time-bound investigation into the matter.
The Single Judge, considering the post-mortem report, which rejected the notion of any sexual assault upon the victim, issued a direction to exchange affidavits. Being aggrieved by the said order, the writ petitioner preferred an appeal before the division bench.
A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi, upon hearing the arguments, held that the police had only probed the case under Section 306 of the IPC.
It was observed that even though there was a statement by the victim's mother that she had been subjected to sexual assault, which was recorded and used to blackmail her, the police did not investigate along those lines.
Accordingly, the court directed, "In such circumstances, police will investigate the case. Police will add relevant provisions of the BNS on the basis of the statement recorded under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C. of the appellant and his wife, as also the other materials in the case diary."
Since the matter was already being heard by the single bench, the court did not pass any orders in that regard.
Case: Tapas Kumar Goswami vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Case No: M.A.T. 1393 of 2025