The Jharkhand high court pulled up the Hazaribag police on Friday while hearing a public interest litigation related to forcible consumption of acid. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Sujit Narayan Prasad also directed the home secretary and the director general of police to be virtually present during the next date of hearing.
The bench was dismayed by the slow pace of investigation and questioned the Hazaribag superintendent of police as to why the accused in the case has not yet been apprehended. The bench further observed that the investigation was ‘unsatisfactory’.
The court also asked the investigating officer of the case the reason for the delay in having the statement of the victim recorded before a magistrate.
The victim, a minor girl aged 13 and a Class VIII student in Hazaribag, had been allegedly forced to drink acid by the accused in December 2019.
