PATNA: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has taken over the investigation into the death of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant after fresh forensic evidence indicated the presence of semen on the undergarments of the victim.
The girl from Jehanabad was found unconscious in her hostel room in Patna on January 6 and subsequently admitted to a private hospital, where she died on January 11.
Patna police had initially claimed that she died by suicide as no evidence of sexual assault was found. The postmortem report showed signs of bruises and injuries on her body. It did not rule out sexual assault with the victim.
The report and related evidence were later provided to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Patna for a second opinion.
The biological test on the undergarments that the girl was wearing showed signs of semen, which indicated that the girl had been sexually abused.
“Keeping fresh forensic evidence in mind, the case has been handed over to CID,” a senior police officer said.
The officer, who did not wish to be named, said the forensic science laboratory (FSL) report detected human semen on one of the undergarments she was wearing at the time of the incident.
A DNA test will throw more light on the matter, he revealed. He said that the DNA samples would be matched with suspects.
The special investigation team, which was assigned to investigate the case, identified a few suspects in the case.
“We are moving cautiously in the case so that justice is done,” the officer asserted.
Meanwhile, Roshni Kumari, station house officer (SHO) of Chitragupt Nagar police station and Hemand Jha, additional SHO of Kadamkuan police station, have been suspended with immediate effect. Disciplinary action was taken for dereliction of duty.
In an FIR lodged on January 9, the girl’s father had expressed suspicion of sexual assault, citing injury marks on her body and head.
The family demanded a CBI probe as they apprehended the local police’s complexity with suspects in the case.