The Supreme Court Tuesday said there is a need for re-investigation in the case of death of a third year student of National Law University, Jodhpur, in August 2017. We may direct re-investigation. This is not the way, observed a bench headed by Justice R F Nariman, which perused the report filed by Rajasthan Police in the matter.
The bench, also comprising Justices Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee, said it would deliver its verdict in the matter. Heard. Arguments concluded. Judgement reserved, the bench said in its order.
During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, advocate Sunil Fernandes, appearing for the victim’s mother who has sought transfer of the case from Rajasthan Police to the CBI, argued that there has been no progress in the probe. Senior advocate Manish Singhvi, appearing for Rajasthan, said the police would re-investigate the case as per the court’s direction.
In July, the top court had said that ongoing investigation in the matter be completed within two months and final report be filed before it. Petitioner Neetu Kumar Nagaich, mother of 21-year-old victim Vikrant Nagaich, has also sought a direction to the CBI to take all steps to “solve the mystery of the unnatural death”.
While claiming that an FIR was lodged in the case after a delay of around 10 months, in June 2018, the petitioner has alleged that the manner in which probe has been conducted “leads to an inescapable reasonable apprehension” that it is a result of a “probable collusion to shield some high, mighty and influential person(s)”.
“Despite lapse of almost three years, no charge-sheet has been filed. The investigation is at a stand-still, with no effort made to apprehend the offenders,” said the plea, while pointing out several alleged lapses in the investigation conducted by the police.
It said that on August 13, 2017, the victim went to a restaurant, around 300 metres from the varsity campus, with his friends in the evening but he did not return and his body was found next morning near the railway track. It has alleged the police has neither approached Google or Facebook nor retrieved the victim’s mobile phone data which could have helped in tracing his movement to ascertain the events on the night of August 13, 2017 and led to further probe.
The plea has claimed that the police has also not retrieved the victim’s chat conversations from WhatsApp on the night of the alleged incident. It has said chat conversation would have been important in ascertaining who the victim was talking to or planning to meet at that hour and it would also have been instrumental in unearthing the events which led to the death.
“The chronology of events raised a reasonable suspicion that the death of petitioner’s son was not merely an accident, or suicide but was something more grave and profound, which demanded immediate consideration and investigation,” it said.
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