Revealing identity of victim in a POCSO Act case: HC directs to suspend 2 cops

MP | 26 July 2023 | Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the Commissioner of Police (CP), Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate to suspend two police officers and initiate disciplinary proceedings against them for ‘dereliction of duty’ during an investigation in connection with revealing the photograph hence the identity of a victim in a POCSO Act case. 

The Division Bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta were hearing the matter. They directed the CP to suspend police officers namely Santanu Sarkar, Inspector-In-Charge of Baguiati Police Station and the Investigating Officer of the case Biswajit Das, Sub-Inspector of Police of Baguiati Police Station. 

The matter will next be heard on August 22. According to the Bench, the directive of the Apex Court which in a different case had stated that “the police officials should keep all the documents in which the name of the victim is disclosed, as far as possible, in a sealed cover and replace these documents by identical documents in which the name of the victim is removed in all records which may be scrutinised in the public domain,” was violated and the photograph of the victim was made part of the case diary produced during judicial proceedings. 

“Police officers are responsible public servants entrusted with the duty to investigate sensitive cases involving vulnerable child victims. Their lack of awareness about the manner in which the identity of the victim is to be protected is appalling. Still more unsettling is the arrest of the petitioner who brought the lis before us,” the Court observed. 

“The police officers concerned appear to have flagrantly ignored the aforesaid mandate of law in the investigation of the case and prima facie caused harm both to the victim by exposing her identity as well as to the petitioner by depriving him of the liberty though materials spoke otherwise,” the Division Bench observed. 

 https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/revealing-identity-of-victim-in-a-pocso-act-case-hc-directs-to-suspend-2-cops-526943