Bihar govt recommends CBI probe into death of NEET aspirant, family members want 'judicial probe'

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Saturday recommended a CBI probe into the recent death of a NEET aspirant here who breathed her last at a hospital days after being found unconscious at her hostel following suspected sexual assault.

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Saturday recommended a CBI probe into the recent death of a NEET aspirant here who breathed her last at a hospital days after being found unconscious at her hostel following suspected sexual assault. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who also holds the Home portfolio, made the announcement on X in the morning, which was followed by a notification from the state department. The father of the deceased girl, who hailed from Jehanabad district, however, voiced dissatisfaction over the move and asserted that he wanted a ''judicial inquiry, by a sitting judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court''. ''What will a CBI probe achieve? It will be no different from the shoddy probe by the SIT formed by police. We had never sought a CBI probe. Perhaps the government is hell bent upon brushing the matter under the carpet and then declare that Bihar has 'sushasan' (good governance)'', the distraught father told reporters in Jehanabad. Incidentally on Friday, he had met the DGP along with his wife and the couple later came out fuming that the state police chief Vinay Kumar was treating the matter as a case of suicide and refusing to look into the sexual assault angle, even though semen was detected in the underclothes of the deceased by forensic experts. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Bihar Police is investigating the case. The NEET aspirant was found unconscious in Shambhu Girls' hostel in Patna's Chitragupt Nagar earlier this month. She died at a private hospital on January 11 after remaining in a coma for several days. Her family had alleged that she was sexually assaulted, accusing authorities of attempting a cover-up. Her post-mortem examination report did not exclude the possibility of sexual violence, and this finding contrasts with police's initial claim that medical reports and CCTV footage had ruled out sexual assault. One person, an employee of her hostel, was arrested in connection with the case. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the decision to transfer the case to CBI reflects the failure of the ''loud-mouthed NDA government'' that ''boasts day and night'' about catching criminals from the depths of the earth and the skies. ''Instead of exposing the rape and murder of a NEET student, the Bihar government has once again proved that its administrative machinery is corrupt, incompetent, inefficient, and unprofessional, incapable of even solving a case of rape and murder,'' Yadav posted on X. He highlighted that in many cases like the Navruna incident, the CBI ''closed the investigations'' after ''failing to apprehend the accused for 12-13 years'', adding that ''the same is likely to happen in this case as well.'' Taking a dig at the NDA leaders, Yadav questioned, ''Where are those who shouted 'jungle raj, jungle raj' during elections? Who will take responsibility for Bihar's collapsed and corrupt law-and-order system? Will there once again be attempts by the government to divert attention through headline management?''

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)