New Delhi: The Supreme Court has transferred the probe into the death of a 14-year-old girl studying in a boarding school in Uttar Pradesh to the CBI after the girl's parents allege that she was raped and murdered. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravi Kumar directed Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments to hand over the relevant case files and documents to the CBI within four weeks.
The bench directed, "We have taken cognizance of the complaint made by the petitioner who happens to be the mother of the deceased and who has lost her minor daughter of 14 years old at that point of time when the closure report has been submitted by the Investigating Officer." It said in its recent order, "Before we proceed with the matter any further, let papers/documents regarding investigation be handed over to the respondent No.4 (CBI) by the State of Uttar Pradesh and the State of Haryana in reference to the FIR within four weeks and respondent No.4 is permitted to further investigate into the allegations made by the petitioner within a period of four weeks." The bench listed the matter for further hearing on July 11.
The top court's order came on an appeal filed by the mother of the deceased against the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had refused to transfer the probe to the CBI. According to the plea, the girl was found hanging in the classroom of her boarding school in 2020 after which her parents have alleged that it is a case of rape and murder. The girl's mother had alleged that it is heinous crime of alleged rape and murder and later followed by the abduction of family members.
The family alleged that when they were called to the school, their phones and other belongings were snatched to ensure that no pictures were taken or the police were called. They said that they were restrained in a classroom of the school and were forced to sign some blank papers and even compelled to cremate the body of the deceased without calling the police or any post-mortem. The plea said that two people on instruction from the principal of the school forcefully took them in a vehicle and dropped them in a village in Haryana where they reside. The family then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court after no action was taken by the police both in Haryana where they lodged a case of abduction and in Uttar Pradesh where they lodged the FIR for the rape and murder of their daughter.
PTI
