The Calcutta High Court has directed police to conduct a fresh investigation into the suspicious death of a young girl, following serious allegations of sexual assault, blackmail, and inadequate police inquiry.
The division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by Tapas Kumar Goswami, a police personnel posted in Punjab, challenging an earlier single-judge order dated July 22, 2025, in his writ petition.
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Background of the Case
- The victim, granddaughter of the appellant’s parents, was found dead by hanging while staying with her paternal grandparents.
- According to the appellant, both he and his wife had given statements under Section 164 of the CrPC, alleging that the victim had been subjected to penetrative sexual assault, her modesty outraged, and a video of the assault was made to blackmail her.
- The appellant’s counsel argued that despite such grave allegations, police failed to properly investigate and ignored crucial leads.
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The State submitted that police had investigated the matter only under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) but could not gather enough evidence to prosecute anyone, leading them to file a closure report.
However, the Court noted:
“The statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. by the wife of the appellant clearly alleges sexual assault and use of video photography for blackmail. It does not appear from the case diary that the police investigated this line adequately.”
The judges further observed that police had failed to seize mobile devices of the accused persons named in the statement and ignored critical digital evidence.
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The High Court directed that:
- Police must reopen the investigation and include relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in light of the recorded statements.
- Authorities should examine CCTV footage near the post-mortem site and investigate the mobile devices of the named suspects.
- Submissions made by the appellant’s lawyer should be taken into account during further investigation.
On the issue of changing the investigating officer, the bench clarified:
“We do not make any comment in substitution of the Investigating Officer or the Investigating Agency at this stage. Such point is kept open.”
Case Title: Tapas Kumar Goswami vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.
Case No.: M.A.T. 1393 of 2025 with CAN 1 of 2025
Date of Judgment: August 27, 2025
