Custodial death in Garo Hills
SHILLONG: The High Court of Meghalaya has asked the West Garo Hills district administration to place before it the magisterial inquiry report into custodial death of Balsan Marak (20) along with the report on cause of the death on August 26.
Balsan, who was arrested by police in connection with the torture of 12 young girls in Tura, died on May 20 while he was in judicial custody after being brought from the Tura district jail to the Civil Hospital for medical treatment.
After a case was filed in the High Court by Mina S Marak, the mother of the victim on June 18, the High Court had issued notices to the West Garo Hills district administration and the police personnel to file their affidavits.
The petitioner had also sought a compensation of over Rs 20 lakh and punishment to the erring police personnel, besides an independent probe by the CBI into the incident.
After filing the affidavits initially, the additional counter affidavits were filed by the West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi, district police chief M K Singh along with others on August 5 and the Court had asked them to submit the magisterial inquiry report and the report on the cause of death within 3 weeks. Bakshi said on Saturday over phone from Tura that the after a long wait, he recently received the toxicology (blood analysis) and viscera reports related to the death of Balsan which were necessary for the completion of the magisterial inquiry report.
Bakshi said that the toxicology report was sent to Directorate of Health Service for the final report on the cause of victim’s death.