Patna, April 13: Patna High Court would hear a petition seeking expeditious investigation and follow-up in an attempt to murder case lodged by Rupam Pathak, who knifed Purnea legislator Rajkishore Keshari to death, on Monday.

Kumud Mishra, mother of Rupam, had filed the petition.

During a brief hearing of the petition, Justice Shailesh Kumar Sinha postponed the matter for further hearing on April 18 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the state government sought time on technical grounds. Kumud Mishra, through her counsel Dinesh Kumar, had earlier, approached the court for a thorough probe by the CBI into the murder as well as the rape case.

Both the prayers of the petitioner have already been met with the CBI, which has submitted a chargesheet recently in the murder case, handling the probe after the state government recommended the case to the investigating agency, whereas the rape case is being probed by the chief judicial magistrate, Purnea.

Referring to the attempt to murder case lodged by Rupam Pathak, Dinesh submitted that Rupam’s statement has not been recorded till date in connection with the brutal assault case, on the day when Pathak killed the legislator, when supporters of the slain legislator thrashed her black and blue.

Nothing is moving in the right direction as neither the investigation is making any progress nor any arrest has been made so far, Kumar added.

The question now arises why the police lodged FIRs against hundreds of unknown persons when Pathak can identify the accused persons who thrashed her on that day, Dinesh said, adding that she could identify the four to five people who beat her.

Rupam (53), a principal of a private school founded by her, knifed Keshari to death at his ancestral home in Purnea on January 4.

Later, on January 8, the state government, after much hue and cry from women and social organisations, recommended a CBI probe into the murder case.