The Gujarat High Court has taken up a harrowing case involving the mysterious death of a teenage migrant labourer, with her father demanding a thorough investigation by the Crime Investigation Department (CID). The court has directed the state government to present all relevant documents in the next hearing.
Father's Plea Alleges Murder After Gangrape
In a petition filed through Advocate Anand Yagnik, a migrant labourer from Udaipur, Rajasthan, approached the High Court seeking justice for his 17-year-old daughter. He alleges that his daughter died under suspicious circumstances in Unjha town of Mehsana district, Gujarat, and suspects she was murdered following a gangrape. This suspicion arose after he received the autopsy report.
The father's submission outlines a tragic sequence of events. His daughter, along with other girls, had travelled from Udaipur to Unjha as construction labourers with a contractor on November 16. The group stayed together in a room. On the evening of November 26, the family received a message that the girl was unwell.
A Trail of Deception and Delayed Action
When the girl's uncle visited the site, the contractor and others told him the girl was "possessed by a ghost" and insisted she be taken back to her village. The uncle, along with the contractor, took the unconscious girl to her native village in Rajasthan, where she was found dead. The family and villagers, convinced the crime occurred in Unjha, insisted on taking the body back there.
The body was brought back to Unjha on June 27, and an autopsy was conducted the following day. The petition alleges severe insensitivity by the Unjha police, who refused to register a First Information Report (FIR) and asked the family to cremate the body in Rajasthan. Despite an application to the Mehsana Superintendent of Police, no action was taken until public agitation pressured the Udaipur police to register an FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. This case was later transferred to Unjha.
High Court Hearing and Demand for CID Probe
During the hearing, Advocate Megha Jani, arguing for the petitioner, informed the court that a second post-mortem had been conducted in Ahmedabad as per the father's initial plea to the HC. She then urged the court to hand over the investigation to the CID (Crime), citing a complete lack of confidence in the Unjha police's approach.
Jani read out the first autopsy report in court, contending that it suggested the victim was "forced and killed." She emphasized the shocking inaction of the Unjha police, who did not file an FIR even after receiving such a report. Following the preliminary hearing, Justice M R Mengdey asked the government lawyer to bring all case-related documents for the next hearing scheduled for Monday.
The case highlights critical concerns about the safety of migrant workers and the responsiveness of police machinery in addressing serious crimes, especially those involving vulnerable sections of society.
