Guwahati: Assam police may relook into the old cases where there might be any doubt about the ‘integrity’ of a police investigation. On Friday, state’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that if any family members of a victim of an unnatural death have any doubts over the investigation, they can approach the concerned district superintendent and pray for a re-investigation.

Sarma said, “If the kin of victims of such cases has any doubts about the police investigation they can contact the SP of the district. Based on the merit of the case, police will relook into the matter.”

The CM’s announcement though came after the revelation of the conspiracy by an accused, police and doctors in the Dhula rape and murder of a 13-year-old minor in June.  In the specific case which has been currently being investigated by CID, at least three police officials including an SP and Adl SP and three doctors and even a district magistrate were arrested for misleading the investigation to provide undue favour to the accused in return for hefty cash.

While others were arrested in a series of operations, Dalgaon executive magistrate Ashirbad Hazarika surrendered before police on Thursday night after an investigation revealed that he had prepared a false report on the death of the 13-year-old victim.

The minor girl, who was working as a domestic help at the house of the accused Krishna Kamal Baruah in Dhula area, was found dead in the house.

CID said Hazarika, an Assam Land and Revenue Service (ALRS) officer of the 2019 batch, had allegedly pronounced that the minor girl died as a result of suicide without visiting the site of the incident. The CID had summoned him for interrogation on November 9.

“Being a home minister of the state it’s my responsibility to oversee the police functioning. It’s not true that police in general are corrupt and do not investigate a case. The Dhula case, I believe is a rare one. But still, we have decided that anyone can approach the SPs of their concern districts to pray for a re-investigation if they suspected foul play in the investigation earlier. Based on the merit of the prayer, actions will be taken,” CM added.

The investigation by CID in the Dhula incident has found that all these officials have tried to mislead the investigation in connivance with three doctors by preparing a false post-mortem report of the victim girl. They allegedly tried to cover up the rape and murder of the girl by the accused and wanted to change it into a suicide case.

“The bank account statements of the main accused’s family, the call detail records, 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 OC Dhula PS for extending undue favours to the main accused of the murder case,” said CID sources.

It may be recalled that a case vide Dhula P.S. Case No. 114/2022 was registered on June 12, 2022, against Krishna Kamal Baruah and another for offences of murder and rape of a 13year old girl child. Due to certain lapses in the investigation by Dhula police station, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after visiting the house of the victim has directed that the case be transferred to CID, Assam for a thorough and detailed investigation. Accordingly, the case was transferred to CID on August 12.

“The investigation was conducted under the direct supervision of senior officers and 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. During the investigation, CID has got exhumed the dead body got a second post mortem conducted, consulted a panel of forensic medical experts, and conducted the DNA profiling of the main accused which matched with the fluids on the clothes of the victim girl,” said the official sources.