The Chhattisgarh High Court has issued notice in a plea seeking independent investigation into the alleged custodial death of a suspected Naxal woman, Pandey Kawasi, who had surrendered to the Police, reported LiveLaw.
Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal issued notice to the State Government and also reportedly asked the concerned Superintendent of Police to make the post-mortem report of the woman available to her parents.
The order, according to LiveLaw, stated: “Petitioners are at liberty to move application before the Superintendent of Police, Dantewada, for granting copy of post mortem report of their daughter and that application will be considered by the concerned Superintendent of Police in accordance with law within seven days from the date of filing of the application.”
The alleged Naxal woman had surrendered to the Police as part of a campaign launched by the Dantewada Police to convince Maoists to “surrender”, after which they’ll be rehabilitated, reported The Newslaundry.
Days after she allegedly surrendered, the news of her death in police custody emerged. Her parents then moved the High Court claiming that their daughter was not a Naxal and that on February 18, she was abducted by members of the District Reserve Group (DRG) and tortured to forcefully surrender under this police campaign, as per LiveLaw.
The parents have also alleged that when they visited their daughter at Karli Police line, her face was swollen and she informed them that after being abducted, she was tied to a tree in a jungle and was intimidated into surrendering. She was also allegedly beaten black and blue at the Police station and assaulted with a lathi.
According to The Newslaundry, the police version of events is that Pandey Kawasi killed herself due to pressure from her family. Abhishek Pallava, the superintendent of police, Dantewada told the media, “The girl died by suicide because her parents were pressuring her to come back to the village. They fixed her marriage with a drunkard boy against her wish after she surrendered on February 19. They were coming to meet her on a daily basis and putting her in emotional turmoil…There may have been fear in her mind that her parents would get her killed after her surrender.”
The State has reportedly been granted six weeks to reply in this matter.
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