HC asks UP DGP to remain present in court today

THE COURT SAID IT SEEMED THAT THE SIT INVESTIGATING THE MATTER WAS NOT ACTING INDEPENDENTLY.

PRAYAGRAJ : The Allahabad high court on Tuesday directed director general of police (DGP), Uttar Pradesh, to remain present in the court on Wednesday (September 15) as it found that a special task force (SIT) was not properly investigating a 2019 case in which a girl student of Mainpuri district was found hanging inside her school under suspicious circumstances.

The bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice AK Ojha passed this order in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Mahendra Pratap Singh alleging that police were not fairly investigating the incident and were rather protecting the actual accused and even the SIT formed for probing the incident was not acting independently.

The bench after going through the case record observed, “It is found that though the FIR of the incident dated 16.9.2019 was lodged on 17.9.2021 having allegation and naming the accused but interrogation of the accused was not made immediately or within reasonable time rather it was done after almost three months.”

“The investigating officer present in Court could not explain the delay in interrogating the accused in a case where a girl aged about 16 years was found hanging in her school and the mother had made allegations of harassment, beating and assault of the girl child,” the bench said. The court said it seemed that the SIT investigating the matter was not acting independently.