The father of the 16-year-old gang-rape victim from West Bengal who was later murdered met President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday and sought a CBI probe into the incident.
The father alleged that his daughter was gang-raped twice and sought the President’s intervention in initiating action against police officials for their alleged negligence.
The father was accompanied by CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat and Shyamal Chakraborty. He submitted a memorandum to the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan seeking his support in taking action against the culprits, as well as certain police, hospital and local administration officials.
In his memorandum, the father narrated the sequence of events since the day his teenage daughter was first raped and thrown in a field, raped again after she lodged a complaint with the police and then burnt to death.
Citing negligence on the part of the police and the hospital authorities, he also explained how the policemen “hijacked” the girl’s body and tried to cremate her and that no forensic tests were carried out.
The President is understood to have given a patient hearing to the father and assured him that his complaint would be forwarded to the Union Home Ministry, CPI(M) sources said.
“Following my daughter’s death on December 31 in 2013, I had sent a letter requesting for a forensic test, but no forensic test has been done even after 12 days since she was set afire,” the letter said.
Earlier in the day, the father also met NCW chairperson Mamata Sharma and submitted a memorandum demanding stiff action against the perpetrators.
The NCW also wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and made a strong pitch for suspension of erring police personnel and order an inquiry against
those who had allegedly ill-treated the family of a 16-year-old girl who was gangraped and murdered.
“We have written to the West Bengal Chief Minister demanding that the police officials who ill-treated the girl’s family be suspended and an inquiry be initiated against them,” NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma said after meeting family members of the girl.
“We have asked the CM to provide police protection to the victim’s family and compensation,” she said.
Sharma said that a delegation of NCW would soon visit West Bengal along with representatives of some women organisations to take cognisance of the situation there.
The family also demanded an impartial enquiry against some health officers in RG Kar Medical College Hospital on charges of negligence.