RANCHI: Three police personnel have been suspended and an FIR registered against them following allegations that they raped a Bangladeshi woman lodged at a detention centre in Hazaribagh. The alleged incident came to light after the District Legal Services Authority (DALSA) flagged the matter in its report, which was brought to the court’s notice during a hearing.
During a subsequent hearing after lunch, the state government informed the High Court that it had been writing to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) since 2023 regarding the woman’s deportation to Bangladesh, but had received no response so far. Consequently, the court directed the counsel for the Central Government to file a response on the matter.
The state government also filed an affidavit stating that an FIR had been registered against three constables — Ranjeet Mahto, Renu Benjamin and Waris Kachhap — for the alleged rape of the woman and that they had been suspended. The court also questioned the government about the sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) invoked in the FIR against the accused constables.
In response, Advocate General Rohitashya Roy informed the court that necessary amendments would be made to the FIR. All three suspended constables are residents of Hazaribagh.
The court directed the state government to provide the necessary amenities to the woman while she remains at the detention centre. DALSA also submitted a sealed report regarding the alleged rape, stating that the woman had been raped by the three police personnel.
Scheduling the next hearing for October 15, the court asked the petitioner to file a rejoinder to the state government’s response.
Earlier in the morning, while hearing the case, the court orally asked the government why a fresh case under the Foreigners Act was registered against the woman in 2025, given that she had already been convicted under the same Act in 2021. Although she had received a three-year sentence in 2021, she was subsequently acquitted in a 2026 case related to the Foreigners Act. The court questioned why the government had not filed an appeal against the acquittal.
The court further asked why the woman had not been deported immediately after being declared a foreigner in 2021, instead of being sent to the Hazaribagh detention centre.
In response, the Home Secretary, who was present in court, explained that the government had contacted the Bangladesh government at the time but received no response. The Advocate General sought time from the court, stating that he wished to seek instructions from the government. Consequently, the court scheduled the next hearing for 2.15 pm after lunch.
Earlier, the government informed the court that two cases had been registered against the woman in 2018: one for child abduction and another under the Foreigners Act. She was sentenced to two years in the child abduction case.
She received a three-year sentence in the Foreigners Act case in 2021 and was subsequently sent to the Hazaribagh detention centre, from where she escaped in late 2025. A new case under the Foreigners Act was then registered against her, in which she was acquitted in 2026.
The matter was heard by a division bench presided over by Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad.