Kolkata court criticises CBI for casual approach in seeking judicial custody extension
Kolkata: A city court on Monday reprimanded the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for being “too casual” in filing applications to extend the judicial custody of Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and Abhijit Mondal, Tala police station SHO, who are accused in the alleged rape and murder of a female doctor on August 9.
The CBI requested an extension of custody citing “new and crucial facts” obtained from data extracted from DVRs, hard drives, and mobile phones, including CCTV footage from the Tala police station. However, the two accused challenged the application, asserting that the agency had not yet questioned them adequately.
Mondal’s advocate Ayan Bhattacharya contended that despite being in judicial custody for several days, his client had not been interrogated “even for a single minute,” arguing that the CBI's plea was only an attempt to delay bail. Similarly, Ghosh’s lawyer Zohaib Rauf questioned the relevance of the data, pointing out that his client was the principal of the hospital and had no connection with the police station.
After hearing the arguments, the judge denied the CBI's request and ordered that the accused remain in judicial custody until October 4. The court stated that the CBI should re approach if the accused "did not cooperate" during the interrogation.
The CBI had earlier arrested Mondal and added charges of evidence tampering against Ghosh, who was initially taken into custody on September 2 for alleged financial irregularities at the RG Kar hospital.
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Bombay High Court acquits rape accused in POCSO case, says girl would be ‘terrified’, not ‘act norma
Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has sparked controversy with its recent verdict, acquitting a 64-year-old man accused of raping an eight-year-old girl. The court cited that the victim's behavior was not consistent with that of a rape survivor, stating that a minor girl subjected to sexual assault would normally be "terrified" and not "act normal and play."
The case dates back to March 2019, when the accused, Vijay Javanjal, allegedly lured the victim with sweets and touched her inappropriately. The victim's mother complained to the police after her daughter reported the incident, stating that Javanjal was sitting next to her daughter while she was playing.
However, the court questioned the authenticity of the victim's testimony, noting that she continued to play after the alleged assault and only reported it to her mother after returning from school. Justice Govinda Sanap stated that if the accused had committed the act, it would have caused fear, pain, and shock to the girl, prompting her to run away and claim shock to her mother.
The court's decision has raised concerns about its understanding of trauma and victim behavior. Critics argue that the verdict perpetuates harmful stereotypes about how victims should react to sexual assault, ignoring the complexities of trauma and individual responses.
Javanjal was initially sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment under the POCSO Act and Section 376AB of the Indian Penal Code by the trial court. The High Court's acquittal has sparked outrage, with many calling for a review of the verdict.
