Calcutta HC heads the government. to take action against police officers for assaulting the IAS officer’s wife

Calcutta High Court. File | Photo credit: Sushanta Patronobish

The Calcutta High Court has taken disciplinary action against three officers of the Kolkata Police in connection with a case involving sexual assault on the wife of an IAS officer.

Citing lapses in the investigation, Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed that the case be transferred to the Deputy Commissioner of Women Police, Lalbazar, and canceled the expected bail of the accused. “The petitioner is clearly a victim of continuous torture and oppression. The investigating officer never bothered to inform the victim about the application filed by the accused, thereby aggravating the anguish of the victim,” Justice Bharadwaj said in the September 27 order.

The Bench added that the officers had failed to seize the CCTV footage from Lake police station “where both the officers and the family members of the accused forced the petitioner to withdraw the complaint”.

In the order, the court directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to take disciplinary action against three women constables for their “failure to follow procedural norms and for tampering with the complaint by the necessary authorities, disregarding the importance emphasized strict compliance with legal provisions designed to protect victims. of sexual offences, in particular as regards recording statements and handling complaints”.

The alleged offense took place on July 14 and 15, 2024, and as per the court’s order later on July 19, the petitioner made a detailed statement before the magistrate under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The allegations of sexual assault have been leveled by the wife of an IAS officer, who is posted outside West Bengal. The woman had alleged that the attack took place on July 14 and 15 at her residence in south Kolkata under Lake police station. On July 15, she filed a complaint with the police. She alleged that on the day she filed a police report, she was subjected to coercion and intimidation by the suspect’s son and wife.

The writ petition in the Calcutta High Court was filed by the woman on July 23, highlighting procedural lapses in the police where steps such as the medical examination and seizure of CCTV footage from the incident scene were not carried out. The victim said she voluntarily underwent a medical examination at a state hospital on July 15.

The court said that the petitioner said that after filing an FIR on July 15, he was forced and intimidated at the police station by relatives of accused respondent No. 9, who were brought in by police officers.

“Despite the seriousness of these actions, no investigation of the CCTV footage from Lake Police Station was conducted during the harassment and no medical examination was conducted despite the express request of the petitioner,” the Court said.

The development comes at a time when the West Bengal government is facing criticism over the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The opposition parties, including the BJP, have attacked the Trinamool Congress government over the incident. The West Bengal government is likely to challenge the order in the Division Bench of the Supreme Court.