Kolkata : Setting aside the demand for a CBI probe raised by the victim’s family, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday rested its faith on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the West Bengal government in connection with the murder of student leader Anis Khan, and ordered for a second post-mortem as demanded by the SIT.
The court also asked the team to submit its progress report to the family and the court within two weeks.
Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, who had ordered that the issue of Khan’s death be taken up as a suo motu petition of the court, also directed the district judge of Howrah to supervise the second post-mortem of Khan’s body. The court also ordered the district judge to take custody of Khan’s mobile phone for the purpose of investigation.
Justice Mantha asked the SIT to seal the mobile phone of Khan in the presence of the judge and the family members and send it to Hyderabad for forensic test. The SIT will also have to analyse everything in detail and inform the family members.
The judgement came following allegations by the family members that Khan was murdered by the police on February 18.
Khan’s father Sabir Khan alleged that the police were responsible for the murder and only a CBI investigation under the supervision of the court can bring the truth to light.
He along with the many others from his village went to the Amta police station and demanded the arrest of officer-in-charge, Debashis Chakraborty.
Meanwhile, the members of the SIT interrogated Chakraborty and four others from Amta police station in connection with the murder of the student leader.
“The investigation team is trying to find out under whose instruction the police went to their house just before the murder. The team is also trying to figure out the team members who were present on the spot on that day,” a senior police officer said.
Two security personnel of Amta police station in Howrah district — Home Guard Kashinath Bera and Civic Volunteer Pritam Bhattacharya — who were arrested by the police on Wednesday morning in connection with Khan’s murder, were was produced before the court on Thursday which sent them to 14-day police custody.
The duo while being taken to the court told the media that they went to Khan’s home on that day on the instruction of the officer-in-charge of Amta police station.
“We are being framed to save some influential people. We are being made scapegoats,” one of them said.
Sources in the police, however, said that it is now clear that on the night of the murder, two police vans from Amta police station went to Khan’s home and they were the last people to meet the student leader.
“There is no doubt that the police went to their house, but what happened after that is still not clear. The police are trying to find out the details,” a senior police officer said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the state government had suspended two policemen and a Home Guard for dereliction of duty. The suspended persons are ASI Nirmal Das, constable Jitendra Hembram and Home Guard Bera, who was arrested on Wednesday.
Anis Khan, a former Aliah University student, was allegedly thrown off the terrace of his residence in the dark of night by the assailants, who visited his home identifying themselves as personnel from the Amta police station, as testified by his father who was held at a gunpoint when the assailants committed the murder.
–IANS
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