The Madras High Court bench here today reprimanded two police officials and government doctors at Dindigul for the manner in which they handled the case of mysterious death of a teenage nursing trainee at a private hospital despite her mother suspecting rape and murder.
Raising questions about lack of details in the post-mortem report, Justice N Kirubakaran directed Assistant Surgeon James Sundar Singh of Dindigul Government Headquarters Hospital to appear before the court tomorrow.
The 17-year-old girl died on June 26 with the hospital authorities informing the family that she suffered a heart attack, the petitioner said.
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On rushing to the hospital, she found her daughter had injuries on her face and lips.
Though the post-mortem was done on June 27, police officials "did not care" to obtain even the post-mortem report till the mother of the nurse filed a petition in the High Court, the judge said.
"They have registered a case as if it was a suicide under Sec 174 of the Crpc (suspicious death) despite strong doubts expressed by the girl's mother that she had been raped and murdered", the Judge said on the petition by the victim's mother Palaniammal seeking transfer of the investigation from local police to CB-CID.
She said there was "no chance" for her teenaged daughter to suffer heart attack.
The Inspector merely registered a case of "suspicious death" and had been threatening her to withdraw the complaint she had lodged, the petitioner submitted.
"Why the police have not pursued the case when specific allegation has been made?" the judge asked.
Deputy superintendent of Police, Dindigul, Vanitha appeared before the court today as directed by the court yesterday.
She had already represented to the Home Secretary and DGP to transfer the case to CB-CID but no action had been taken so far. Hence the court should transfer the case to CB-CID for a fair and free inquiry, she said.
