PATNA: The Bihar government on Saturday recommended a CBI probe into the recent alleged sexual assault and murder case of a NEET aspirant in Patna.
Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, in an X post, expressed, “Honourable Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar ji has urged the Government of India to hand over the investigation of the NEET student's murder case in Patna to the CBI. The incident must be uncovered, transparently, and fairly.”
Bihar government recommended CBI probe into the case ahead of commencement of the State assembly session from Monday, and a day after the parents of NEET aspirant from Jehanabad district alleged that the State police was trying to hush up the matter by denying sexual assault.
Family members met DGP after they were reportedly called by him.
The family had sought the DGP's intervention to ensure justice, as local police officials were allegedly in cahoots with the suspects in the case.
The NEET aspirant, who was preparing for the medical entrance exam, was found unconscious in the room of a private girls’ hostel under Chitragupta Nagar police station limits in Patna on January 6.
She was staying at the hostel to take coaching for the examination.
She died at a private hospital on January 11 after remaining in a coma for days. Her family had alleged that she was sexually assaulted, accusing authorities of attempting a cover-up.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is investigating the case. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Central Range, Jitendra Singh Rana, was asked to monitor the investigation.
In addition, the State’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials were asked to assist the district police in the investigation.
CID had taken over the investigation on the directive of the State police chief, sources in the state police headquarters said.
The postmortem examination conducted by a medical board of Patna Medical College and Hospital has not ruled out the possibility of the NEET aspirant's sexual assault.
Patna police recently claimed that a forensic report of the student’s clothes, which she wore at the time of hospitalisation, detected traces of semen.
The latest finding strongly suggests sexual assault and harassment of the NEET aspirant.
The police registered a murder and suspected sexual assault case after the FSL report found male sperm on the victim’s undergarment.
“DNA profile from the traces of semen detected in the forensic report has also been obtained for matching them with DNA profiles of the arrested persons and other suspects,” a senior officer associated with the investigation said.
The SIT quizzed five suspects in the age group of 16 to 20 years. A suspect was found present in the hostel on the day of the incident.