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Notice to CBI Director in Bhanwari abduction-murder case

The Rajasthan High Court Today Issued Notices To The CBI Director And The State Government On A Petition By Indra Bishnoi, One Of The Accused Of The Bhanwari Devi Abduction And Murder Case, Seeking Quashing Of The Charge Sheet Filed By The Investigating Agency Against Her.

PTI | Updated on: 12 Apr 2016, 11:49:36 PM

Jodhpur:

The Rajasthan High Court today issued notices to the CBI Director and the state government on a petition by Indra Bishnoi, one of the accused of the Bhanwari Devi abduction and murder case, seeking quashing of the charge sheet filed by the investigating agency against her.

Indra Bishnoi, who has been absconding since long with pending trial, had challenged both the CBI investigation and the charge-sheet against her by pointing to some legal “defects” in its investigation in “violation” of Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act.

The grounds taken by her counsel Hemant Nahta included the filing of charge-sheet by an officer below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in a matter which was registered under this Act.

He argued in the court that this Act prohibited the investigation by any officer below the rank of a DSP “whereas 95% of the investigation in this case was done by the officers of Sub Inspector or Inspector level”, Nahta argued.

The counsel argued that the anticipatory bail of the petitioner was dismissed on the grounds that under the Act, anticipatory bail is barred whereas this point of law was completely missed that investigation has been done by an unauthorised officer.

He further argued that there was not a single evidence pointing to the involvement of Indira Bishnoi in the criminal conspiracy of the alleged crime.

Hearing the arguments, justice Sanget Lodha issued notices to the CBI Director and the state government seeking reply by May 4, the next hearing.

Bhanwari Devi, a 36-year-old midwife by training and a nurse, went missing in September 2011 and her body was found four months later.

It was alleged that Bhanwari Devi had been blackmailing the then Rajasthan Water Resources minister Mahipal Maderna and former Congress MLA Malkhan Singh on the basis of a video clip showing her in intimate position with them.

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First Published : 12 Apr 2016, 11:45:00 PM

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