Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday said those involved in the death of a NEET aspirant in Patna will not be spared.
The 18-year-old, a resident of Jehanabad district, was found unconscious earlier this month in a room of a private girls’ hostel in Patna’s Chitragupt Nagar, where she was staying to prepare for the medical entrance examination.
She died at a private hospital on January 11 after remaining in a coma for several days. Her family has alleged that she was sexually assaulted and accused authorities of attempting a cover-up.
Talking to reporters here, Choudhary, who also holds the Home portfolio, said, "Police have already constituted a special investigation team to probe the incident. The DGP himself is monitoring the investigation. Those involved in her death will not be spared."
Her death led to massive protests in Patna, following which police arrested the owner of the girls' hostel.
While initial medical findings suggested that the girl had consumed a large quantity of sleeping pills and was suffering from typhoid, the post-mortem examination report stated that "sexual violence cannot be ruled out."
Despite the family’s allegations, police maintained that medical reports and CCTV footage did not indicate sexual assault.
"Doctors found no signs of sexual assault and stated that the girl had consumed a large quantity of sleeping pills and was suffering from typhoid," Patna police had said in a statement on January 13.
Meanwhile, family members of the deceased on Sunday demanded action against the hostel warden, doctors and police personnel, alleging a cover-up.
"The hostel warden, doctors and certain policemen are hand-in-glove. Action must be taken against them. The hostel authorities offered us money for a compromise, and police personnel threatened us not to speak to the media," the girl’s father alleged, demanding justice for his daughter.
The case has triggered a political outcry in the state. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav criticised the state government, accusing the Nitish Kumar dispensation of being "insensitive" and of "patronising criminals."
RJD president Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya urged Kumar to personally monitor the probe.
In a post on X on Sunday, she wrote, "Officials investigating the case must maintain transparency and ensure swift justice to the girl and her family members. Doctors of the private hospital, where the girl was initially treated, overlooked injury marks on the body of the deceased. It might be an attempt to conceal and suppress the facts."
Independent Lok Sabha MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, demanded a CBI probe and said he had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard.
The SIT investigating the case on Sunday visited the private hospitals that had earlier treated the girl and recorded statements of their staff.
Several girls residing at the hostel visited the premises on Sunday to collect their belongings, but were asked by security personnel to approach the local police station, officials said.