DSP suicide case: HC transfers probe to CBI

The Madras High Court today transferred to CBI from the state CB-CID the probe into the 2015 case of alleged suicide of DSP R Vishnupriya, who was investigating a Dalit youth's murder case.
A division bench comprising Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and M V Muralidaran gave the direction on an appeal filed by her father.
It asked the state CB-CID to hand over the investigation to the central agency.
The bench said though the state police is investigating the matter, it is normal on the part of the victim's kin in such cases to seek transfer of the probe to CBI.

Vishnupriya was found hanging in her residence-cum-office in Tiruchengode on September 18, 2015.
Her father Ravi and one of her batchmates had levelled charges of harassment by her superiors in connection with a case related to the murder of Dalit youth V Gokulraj, which she was probing.

Her friend, Uma Maheshwari, also a DSP, who pressed for a CBI probe, had also alleged that Vishnupriya was harassed by her superiors as they wanted some persons to be arrested in the case, which had caste overtones.
Police had, however, rejected the charge, saying they had recovered a "suicide note" in which she had stated it was her third suicide attempt and had requested her mother not to create an issue over it.

A single judge had last year declined to transfer the probe to CBI against which the DSP's father had filed an appeal.
On May 26, last year, the high court had granted bail to Yuvaraj, prime accused in the murder of the Dalit youth, who had married a non-Dalit girl.
Yuvaraj has been charged with abducting Gokulraj, a Dalit engineering student, who was in love with his classmate and a non-Dalit girl, and murdering him in Tiruchengode.
Gokulraj's headless body was found on a railway track near Pallipalayam on June 23, 2015, following which Yuvaraj went underground. He had surrendered on October 11, 2015.