The Gauhati High Court in the case Rafikul Mondal v. The State of Assam & 6 Ors observed and has pulled up Assam Police for creating a post-investigation FIR, in relation to a murder of a person in order to justify the detention of a woman along with the woman infant in the Bilasipara Police Station of Dhubri district.
The division bench comprising of Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Devashis Baruah in the case observed that such a procedure is totally being align to the principles of criminal jurisprudence.
The bench in the case observed that from the pleadings and the documents available on record, it is clear as day light that the officers of the Bilasipara Police Station, namely, the Sub-Inspector, Shri Manash Jyoti Saikia and the Officer-in-Charge, Shri Jyotirmoy Gayan, have created a post-investigation FIR on May 31, 2023, inspite of the fact that two previous FIRs had already been registered in the matter with regards to the killing of Baser Ali. Therefore, it being clear that this FIR was being registered so as to somehow the other justify the arrest of Rokiya Khatun and such kind of procedure is totally alien to the principles of criminal jurisprudence.
In the present case, the court was hearing the writ plea moved by the brother of the detained woman who was allegedly kept in the police custody for 6-days along with her two-year old child and a teenager who is over a charge of murder without registering of the FIR in the matter.
Further, the court observed that there has been blatant misuse of power by the police officials of Bilasipara Police Station as well as the Supervising Police Officers in the matter on June 09, 2023.
The court in its order stated that multiple FIRs have been registered in relation to the same incident with systematic improvement in the case. Thus, even the names of the accused or the suspects have been substituted in the third FIR dated May 31, 2023 which, surprisingly, has been filed by none other than the Officer-in-Charge, Bilasipara Police Station, Sri Jyotirmoy Gayan himself wherein the said action creates the serious doubt on the fairness of investigation and, hence, the said court is compelled to direct that the Director General of Police, Assam, shall forthwith summon the original records of this case to himself and, thereafter, the court shall as assign further investigation thereof to an officer not below the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police posted in any neighbouring district of Dhubri and that the Director General shall in the case supervise the enquiry initiated under the aforesaid communication dated June 08, 2023.
It has also been informed by the said court that the preliminary enquiry into the conduct of the officers has also been initiated under the supervision of the Director General of Police and the officers concerned, which includes the Superintendent of Police, Dhubri, have since been transferred on June 16, 2023.
Accordingly, the court observed and has directed that the Enquiry Officer as well as the Investigating Officers shall conduct further proceedings expeditiously and a factual report is to be submitted on June 21, 2023.