Child Rights Body Targets Jharkhand Police Over Probe Into Boy's Death

Raising doubts over the police probe into the killing of a boy during a clash in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights or NCPCR has said the investigators might be trying to "safeguard" the accused.

In a letter to the state police chief, the NCPCR alleged that the police failed to follow the procedures under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws.

"... In the counter FIRs that have been registered by the police, approximately 16 minor children have been named as accused... Some children whose names have been added as accused were not even in the village on the said day. This further lays suspicion that the investigating agency may be trying to outweigh themselves in present matter and safeguarding the accused," the commission said in its observation.

It mentioned that authorities seemed to have failed in conducting fair investigation and were using various "methods of intimidation" of the witnesses into giving statements that would help "the false narrative created by the authorities".

The NCPCR had on Thursday recommended handing over the case to the CBI and asked Jharkhand DGP Neeraj Sinha to take "disciplinary action" against district police officers and provide protection to the witnesses and their family members.

Tension gripped parts of Hazaribagh district after Rupesh Kumar Pandey, 17, was killed at Barhi on February 6 in a clash during the immersion procession of the idol of Goddess Saraswati, resulting in communal tension in the area.

NCPCR officials had visited Barhi in Hazaribagh for the purpose of conducting an inquiry and to take stock of the progress of investigation.

The commission had sent its Inspection Report along with other recommendations to the DGP on Thursday.

During the visit of the team of officials, many lapses were found on the part of the investigating authorities regarding following the due process of law, according to the Action Taken Report by NCPCR.

"To look into these lapses, it is necessary that the matter be transferred to some independent investigating agency. It is recommended that such agency may preferably be a central agency such as the CBI to conduct an impartial and fair investigation," the NCPCR had said on Thursday.

Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police Manoj Ratan Chothe had earlier said four people have been arrested in connection with the incident. He, however, insisted that the clash was a result of an "old rivalry" and had no communal angle to it.