MY KOLKATA EDUGRAPH
ADVERTISEMENT
Regular-article-logo Saturday, 05 July 2025

Nettle chargesheet omits molestation

The CID has named an OC and three constables in the chargesheet on the alleged torture of a Birbhum woman but booked them for bailable offences that do not include the charge of molestation although she alleged that nettle leaves were rubbed in her private parts.

Our Correspondent Published 12.03.15, 12:00 AM

Suri, March 11: The CID has named an OC and three constables in the chargesheet on the alleged torture of a Birbhum woman but booked them for bailable offences that do not include the charge of molestation although she alleged that nettle leaves were rubbed in her private parts.

The chargesheet has not mentioned the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) who had allegedly led the team that also slashed the palm of the woman and hit her with batons to get information on her nephew, an untraceable BJP worker wanted in cases of political clashes in Parui.

The chargesheet was submitted today in a sealed envelop in the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Suri but the judge was yet to open it.

According to CID sources, the policemen named in the chargesheet are the OC of the special operations group (SOG) in Birbhum, Kartik Mohan Ghosh, and constables Dipak Bauri, Kashinath Das and Alpana Lohar.

The accused have been charged under IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 357 (assault or criminal force in attempt to wrongfully confine a person).

The punishments under the charges range between one year and seven years in jail. All sections are bailable.

Bolpur SDPO Amlan Kusum Ghosh, who led the police team on January 17, has not been named in the chargesheet. "I will not make any comment," he said today.

The chargesheet also does not mention the six Trinamul Congress workers who were named in the FIR lodged by the woman's husband for allegedly accompanying the police team.

The woman said she was not satisfied with the investigation and demanded a CBI probe.

The assistant public prosecutor of Suri court, Kuntal Chatterjee, said: "The chargesheet has been submitted to the court. But the chief judicial magistrate was not present today. I can't say anything about the chargesheet till it is opened in the court."

Hearing about the charges pressed on the police, a lawyer of Suri court said: "We are surprised that all the sections are bailable. The case is serious. At least the molestation charge should have been added."

CID officers said the chargesheet was filed on the basis of the findings of the probe but refused to say anything else.

Taking suo-motu cognisance of the case, Calcutta High Court had expressed dissatisfaction with the CID probe and decided to monitor it.

A senior police officer who assisted the CID in the probe said: "During the investigation, we did not find the presence of any person at the spot other than those in the police team. Only the police were involved in the incident. As far as the charge of molestation is concerned, it can be added in a supplementary chargesheet later."

After the chargesheet was submitted, the woman said: "It is clear that the chargesheet was drawn up on the directions of the Trinamul Congress. I think the CID prepared the chargesheet to save the Trinamul workers. The SDPO had led the team. I demand a CBI probe into the case."

Follow us on:
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT