wb-to-hire-99-legal-experts-to-help-aid-probes

Taking a lesson from the lapses in the probe process in RG Kar rape-murder case, which triggered massive controversy, West Bengal government decided to hire 99 legal experts.

 

They will be assisting investigating agencies during the course of investigation of a sensitive case, especially crime against women.

 

The decision of hiring lawyers for investigating agencies was taken in a cabinet meeting on Monday.  

 

West Bengal police sought help from legal experts unofficially in the rape and murder of two minors in Falakata in north Bengal and Domkol in Murshidabad and two others cases of sexual assault on minors. 

 

“We engaged the lawyers during investigation to avoid re-run of mistakes in RG Kar case in which a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered in August,” said a police officer.

 

In the cabinet meeting, it has been decided that legal experts will be hired for each of 99 sub-divisions in Bengal.

 

Hiring legal experts and engaging them during the course of investigation is said to be unprecedented in the history of Bengal police.

“Public prosecutors step in when we produce accused in court and during the trial of a case. Before this stage, our men investigate. But in the RG Kar case, sleuths who were working to crack missed out on certain details like lodging the FIR late and registering general diary entries on two occasions. These mistakes were not only raised in the Supreme Court but also drew a flak by common people with a narrative that the lapses were intended to hide the fact which was not a fact,” said the officer.

 

The probe into the RG Kar case revealed that Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer attached to Kolkata police, was the lone culprit involved in the heinous act. 

 

The probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which handed over the charge of investigation by the Calcutta High Court, also drew the same conclusion.

 

“The federal agency’s findings established that our probe unearthed the real fact. It is a fact that there were some procedural lapses in the investigation. But it had no impact on our findings,” said another senior police officer of Kolkata police.