Guwahati, Nov 10: The criminal investigation department (CID) of Assam Police has arrested suspended Darrang superintendent of police Raj Mohan Ray after he was found to have taken illegal gratification from the kin of the main accused in the murder of a minor girl “as a reward for extending undue favours to screen the accused and dilute the case”.
According to an official statement issued here, Ray has been arrested in a fresh case registered by CID Assam under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, vide CID police station case (number 20/2022) under Sections 120B/420/218 of IPC read with Sections 7(b), (8)1)0i) of the PC Act 1988 (as amended in 2018).
“He is being produced before the Special Judge Court, Guwahati and remand is being sought for further interrogation,” the superintendent of police, CID Assam, said in a statement on Thursday.
Notably, the arrest took place just three days after CID Assam had arrested a suspended police officer and three doctors of a government-run hospital in Darrang district in connection with the death of the minor girl.
“The bank account statements of the main accused’s family and the call data records have been ascertained. Tower location and geo location mapping analyses have been done in detail and after examining all the relevant witnesses, it has come on record that Raj Mohan Ray has received an amount of Rs 2 lakh from the accused family through the then officer Dhula police station for extending undue favours to the main accused of the murder case,” the statement said.
It may be recalled that a case was registered at Dhula police station on June 12, 2022 against main accused, Krishna Kamal Baruah, and another for alleged murder and rape of a 13-year old girl.
However, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, after visiting the house of the victim, directed that the case be transferred to CID Assam for a thorough and detailed investigation, after certain lapses in investigation by the Dhula police station were observed.
“Accordingly, the case was transferred to CID on August 12, 2022 and day-to-day investigation was conducted under direct supervision of senior officers. Adequate evidence has been brought on record to prove the offences of molestation, murder, destruction of evidence, attempt to rape under IPC and sexual assault on a minor child under POCSO Act,” the statement said.
During investigation, the CID exhumed the victim’s body and a second post mortem was conducted.
A panel of forensic medical experts was consulted and DNA profiling of the main accused conducted, which matched with the fluids on the clothes of the victim.
Accordingly, the detailed chargesheet was filed on September 25, 2022 against the main accused, who is presently in judicial custody.
“Further investigation into the bribery charges and role of government officials revealed that commissions and omissions (to screen the accused) were committed by the doctors who conducted the (first) post-mortem and they were arrested on November 7, 2022, interrogated in police custody and remanded to judicial custody,” the statement said..
“Even the then additional SP, Rupam Phukan, was also arrested on November 7 and is presently in police custody for detailed interrogation,” it said.
Earlier, on October 31, the then OC Dhula police station, Utpal Borah, was arrested and remanded to judicial custody after custodial interrogation.
The other accused, Ashirvad Hazarika, the magistrate whose role has also come on record, is absconding.
The CID has also conducted searches at the residences of the arrested police officers and certain incriminating materials have been seized.