Ranchi, Feb. 17: Jharkhand High Court today directed the additional director-general, CID, J. Mohapatra, to carry out an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of a student of Regional Institute of Technology (RIT), Jamshedpur Kunal Dayal.

The matter was brought before the court by Kunal?s mother Manju Dayal, who countered the police claim that her son died in an accident. Manju claims that Kunal was murdered. Kunal had gone on a picnic in 2003 from which he did not return. In the petition, Manju told the court that she was later informed that he drowned while taking a bath in the river. The police had closed the case by reporting it as an accident.

Dayal?s counsel Delip Jerath told the court today that the postmortem report of the boy did not mention accumulation of water in the lungs and in the stomach, as is common in any death due to drowning. On the contrary, the report said that he had bled from the nose and clots of blood were also found in his chest. There were also marks of injury on his legs, the counsel said. Particles of sand were also found in his nostrils, hinting at foul play, he said. Kunal, a third-year student of the institute did not know how to swim and would definitely not have ventured into the river, the counsel said.

The police, while conducting the investigation earlier, had reported that 25 students including Kunal had gone for a picnic during which Kunal died. However, due to the increasing pressure, the case was reopened by the deputy superintendent of police, who in his report said 80 students had gone for the picnic. The report of the police official did not mention the statements of the other students who had gone for the picnic, the counsel said.

In another case, the high court today issued a notice to Dhanbad deputy commissioner Bila Rajesh for suspending Dhanbad Club secretary Ashwini Beotra. Rajesh also appointed a new committee of administrative officials, which was challenged by Beotra. The deputy commissioner had appointed a new committee after she forced the existing members of the club to resign.

Beotra?s counsel told the court as ex-officio president of the club, Rajesh does not have the power to suspend or force people to resign from the club. According to the rules of the club, there is no provision for suspending any office-bearer or employee. They can only be terminated from service, the counsel said.