Advocate moves NHRC, state panel over medical aspirant’s death

Patna: Human rights advocate Subodh Kumar Jha, based in Muzaffarpur, lodged two separate petitions with the National Human Rights Commission and the Bihar State Human Rights Commission in connection with the death of a medical aspirant in the state capital.

The petitions highlighted findings from the student’s autopsy report, which hinted rape and severe injuries to the girl, contradicting initial police claims of suicide.

The activist called for an impartial, high-level investigation supervised by a retired judge to ensure transparency. Additionally, he sent letters to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of the Patna high court, urging judicial intervention to deliver justice.

Jha alleged a systematic effort to obscure facts from the outset, pointing to inconsistencies in statements from police, medical professionals, senior officials, and hostel authorities. He further alleged that the girl’s body injuries, combined with circumstantial evidence and medical documentation, suggested a calculated plot to misrepresent the incident as self-inflicted.

“An attempt to suppress a heinous crime to protect an accused is itself a punishable offence,” Jha said while questioning the “shift” in the investigation following the release of the postmortem report.