When RG Kar was raped and murdered The trial has hit the headlines once again On the bail of Sandeep Ghosh, the former principal of the institute, and Abhijit Mandal, a former officer of the Tala police station, The Indian Express has published a list of three other recent incidents in West Bengal in which lives of bright and young people were robbed under mysterious circumstances. .
The killing of Muslim student leader, 28-year-old Anis Khan, allegedly by police personnel, put the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal in a tight spot. According to Salem Khan, Anis Khan’s father, on the night of February 19, 2022, four men – one in police uniform and three dressed as civilian volunteers – forced their way into his house in Amta, Howrah district, searching for Anis Khan. The uniformed man allegedly detained Salem Khan at gunpoint while three others went upstairs in search of his son. Salem Khan alleged that men dressed as civilian volunteers pushed his son from the third floor of the house. He claimed that after Anis Khan fell to the ground, three men came down and told the man in uniform, “Sir, the job is done.”
Anis Khan, a student of Alia University, was a leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI) before becoming an active member of the Indian Secular Front (ISF), which was formed by the influential Islamic party ahead of the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections. Religious leader Abbas Siddiqui. Anees Khan was also a prominent figure during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Kolkata. At the time of his death, he was studying journalism and was the leader of the student body of the ISF at Aliya University.
Anis Khan’s family filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court for a CBI probe. However, the court has placed faith in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government. The SIT filed the charge sheet on July 10, 2022 before the ACJM of the Uluberia court in Howrah. In the charge sheet, the SIT said, “In the course of investigation based on facts and circumstances as well as in the light of all oral, documentary and evidentiary analysis collected. Physical evidence, investigation by a police team led by ASI Nirmal Das and… Bera and Citizen Volunteer Pritam Bhattacharya on 19.02.2022 At around 1 o’clock in the day, the deceased went to Anis Khan’s house and forcibly entered the house .”
The statement said, “Investigations have shown that the entire raid was carried out during the discussion that the then in-charge of Amta police station SI Devbrat Chakraborty and a civilian volunteer Saurabh Kanrar and the police team went to the house of Anis Khan. Without taking necessary steps to comply with the law under the direction of OC Amta PS. Such actions by the above police personnel and assistant personnel constitute the crime of conspiracy to detain persons and houses illegally for which they can be prosecuted according to law.”
Saleem Khan’s lawyer Shamim Ahmed said, “There were 103 witnesses named in the charge sheet out of which only one witness… Salem Khan’s account has been taken till date. We do not know how long it will take to complete the test. “
Faizan Ahmed, Student, IIT Kharagpur
It has been two years (October 14, 2022) since the tragic death of Faizan Ahmed, 23, a mechanical engineering student from Tinsukia, Assam. Although the police initially claimed it was suicide, the deceased’s family alleged foul play and said he was a victim of ragging at IIT Kharagpur’s Lala Lajpat Rai hostel.
The currently pending case took a major turn after the second forensic report was submitted a few months ago. This report, contrary to the initial police story, highlighted the gunshot wounds on Ahmed’s body. The court is now awaiting the final forensic report to confirm these findings.
Advocate Anirudh Mitra, representing the victim’s family, questioned the reasoning behind “categorizing the death as suicide before a serious investigation has started”. In Ahmed’s case, none of the evidence, including the missing viscera report, substantiated the initial claim of a self-inflicted wrist injury. Justice Rajashekhar Mantha’s order for a second post-mortem was challenged by the state but ultimately upheld.
The latest forensic report reinforced the family’s suspicions. Human blood was found on Ahmed’s nail clippings, hair strands, spine, jaw and back muscles. The doctor who performed the second autopsy also highlighted the absence of the right temporal bone of the deceased’s skull, aligning with initial crime scene photographs. The report did not include poisoning as the cause of death.
As the legal battle continues, Ahmed’s family remains steadfast in their pursuit of justice.
A 17-year-old student of Jadavpur University
A father whose minor son died tragically under mysterious circumstances in Jadavpur University is tirelessly fighting for justice. For more than a year, he has been attending several court hearings facing the 12 accused and their legal teams. Despite the great emotional upheaval and the toll it has taken on his family, the victim’s father is determined to seek justice for his son.
On August 9, 2023, a 17-year-old boy fell from the second floor balcony of a hostel building. A police investigation revealed the boy’s harrowing ordeal of threats, sexual abuse and humiliation at the hands of his superiors. The accused, a mix of current and former students, have been charged under sections of the POCSO Act and the IPC for abetting suicide.
Talking to Indian Express, the victim’s father said, “There are 12 accused. Whenever they apply for bail, I appear in court. This is in addition to the simultaneous hearing of my son’s death. I have not missed a single court hearing. My whole life has changed. My wife is still in shock, it has already been a year but I am determined to see the end of this issue. I lost my son but I don’t want anyone to go through this. I curse myself for admitting my son to Jadavpur University…”
He said that he had lost all hope of justice but only recently the trial of the case had been speeded up.
“Around 40-50 lawyers were there to take their (accused) case and fight with us. I was very disappointed to see all this. It was as if the case fell out of my hand. Accused people have money and can afford the best lawyers to prove their innocence but a father’s struggle is not wasted. I have complete faith in the judiciary,’ added the father of the deceased.
Speaking about the case, a police officer said, “We have evidence that she was sexually assaulted, forcibly clothed and charged accordingly.”
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