Ranchi (Jharkhand): A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by the Jharkhand Police to investigate the murder of a class 12 student who was set ablaze by a stalker on August 23 in Jharkhand's Dumka district, an official said.
The 10-member SIT will be headed by the Superintendent of Police. "An SIT has been formed which will be headed by the Superintendent of Police. Seeing the seriousness of the case, supervision will be done by the Superintendent of Police. Till now two accused have been arrested. Investigation from every aspect is being done," ML Meena, ADG Headquarters, Jharkhand Police said.
Speaking to ANI, SP Mandal, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Dumka said the forensics team was into evidence collection and that it was a serious case. "The case will be supervised by the SP. This a serious case. Ankita Singh, a Class 12 girl was set ablaze on August 23, following which she was admitted to Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) where she succumbed to her burn injuries on August 28," Mandal added.
The incident led to severe protests by locals, after which Section 144 was imposed. One accused identified as Shahrukh was arrested on August 23 and on Monday one Naeem alias Chhotu Khan was arrested. The girl was set on fire for allegedly turning down a proposal after which petrol was poured on her and she was set ablaze. The accused had allegedly poured petrol on the woman through the window of her home when she was asleep and set her on fire.
Ankita Singh was cremated on Monday morning. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday ordered the Dumka administration to provide Rs 10 lakh assistance to the kin of the girl. According to the Chief Minister's Office, Soren also directed the proceedings against the accused arrested to be done from the fast-track court.
The Director General of Police has also been directed to give an early report on the progress of research by the ADG rank officer in the said case. Meanwhile, Soren on Monday assured the "earliest" punishment to the arrested accused and also called for laws to "further strengthen the existing laws for such incidents".
HC takes cognisance of Dumka girl's death case, summons DGP
The High Court of Jharkhand on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the Dumka school girl death case and ordered the Director General of Police to file a report. The DGP, Neeraj Sinha, was present in the court following a summons by the bench. The division bench of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan has asked for the status report on the case. The bench asked the DGP why the victim was referred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, and not to AIIMS, Deoghar, which is much closer from Dumka.
The DGP was also asked to mention in his report whether the Deoghar facility is well-equipped to handle burn cases. The incident happened in Dumka town on August 23 when a man allegedly poured petrol on the girl from outside the window of her room while she was sleeping and set her on fire.
The teenager, who apparently did not reciprocate his overtures angering him, succumbed to her injuries on Sunday. Two persons, including the main accused, have been arrested in connection with the case till Tuesday afternoon. On Monday the Child Welfare Committee, Dumka said the class 12 was a minor, based on her class 10 board examination mark sheet, and demanded action against the accused under the POCSO Act.
The committee said she was around 16 years old as per the mark sheet and not an adult as claimed by the police. The National Commission for Women has written to the Jharkhand Police chief, calling for a fair investigation into the girl's death. The Director General of Police has been directed to submit an early report on the progress of the investigation, which should be conducted by ADG rank officer, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said in a Twitter post on Monday. (Agency inputs)
