Dumka girl’s death: Jharkhand HC asks Chief Secy, DGP to be present on next hearing

The court also asked police to provide security to the teen’s family.

The court order came on a day state Health Minister Banna Gupta made several rounds of the premier Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) hospital in Ranchi to get details on a woman from Chatra district who fell victim to an acid attack, purportedly in an effort to avoid further controversy after being at the receiving end of severe criticism from BJP over what the party calls the state government’s lackadaisical attitude in case of the teen from Dumka.

In less than four hours, Chief Minister Hemant Soren ordered that the acid attack victim be airlifted to Delhi for “better treatment”.

Earlier, the BJP had said that the teen could have been saved had the state government taken the initiative to take her outside for better treatment.

On August 23, the girl was set on fire, allegedly by one Shahrukh Hussain. She was taken to Dumka district hospital, where the hospital superintendent referred her to a higher centre, stating that she had sustained “90 percent burn injuries”. She was taken to RIMS on August 24, and succumbed on August 28.

However, RIMS PRO Rajiv Ranjan said the victim sustained “45 percent burn injuries” and died due to “cardio-respiratory failure”.

A source in the district administration said, “The mismatch is problematic. We will look into it.”

Meanwhile, Dumka district officials said BJP leaders Manoj Tiwary, Kapil Mishra and Godda MP Nishikant Dubey will meet the victim’s family on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on airlifting the victim Chatra stated that she was subjected to a “heinous acid attack on 5th August” and is undergoing treatment at RIMS. She will be airlifted to Delhi August 31, it stated.

“The RIMS Medical Board headed by the Medical Superintendent referred her for better treatment in Delhi…family members of the victim are being provided with financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh,” the CMO release stated. “The accused was arrested on the day of the incident.”

Sources in the government said Soren does not want any other controversy regarding treatment-related shortcomings at a time the Opposition is attacking his government from all fronts.

The BJP had also criticised Dumka Deputy SP, Noor Mohammad, who was monitoring the case, by questioning his credibility. Superintendent of Police P Ambar Lakra, however, told The Indian Express, “There is a protocol that Deputy SPs should monitor cases in their jurisdiction. The narrative that he was removed is not correct, because as a senior officer I have started to monitor (the case).”