High Court pulls up UP Government for submitting ‘partial’ investigation report in Lakhimpur case

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court (UP High Court) pulled up the state government for not giving it a ‘full’ report on the investigations into the death of the 14 year old girl in Lakhimpur.

“When the report was placed in front of the Court, it expressed its displeasure on being served with a ‘partial’ report,” one of the advocates involved in the case told the media outside the High Court in Lucknow.

The lawyer also said that the Court noted that it did not consider the event was not a normal murder as the young girl was killed by those who were tasked with protecting her.

The Court also asked the UP Government why they haven’t attached the property of those policemen who are on the run and are accused in the case.

It asked the investigating agency, the CB-CID, to submit its full investigation report by 24th of this month. However, it later relaxed the date to 4 June after the CB-CID said that it could not supply the forensic reports by then as they won’t be ready.

The case, involving the alleged rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl by four or five policemen in Lakhimpur in UP has become the subject much political name-calling in UP.

The main opposition party, Samajwadi Party and the Congress have both highlighted the episode as an evidence of the “anarchy” prevailing in India’s most populous state. The controversy has been amplified by the impending state elections in UP early next year.