Badaun rape: Fresh twist or ploy to divert CBI's attention?

CBI's decision to conduct polygraph test of the kin of the horrific Badaun gang rape victims has given a new twist to the entire case. Country's premiere investigating agency reportedly wants to explore all possible angles in the tragic incident which triggered a national outrage. But this sudden development is raising many questions over the investigators' way of functioning.

What is Badaun rape case?

Bodies of two minor Dalit girls were found hanging from a tree in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district on May 28, a day after they went missing. Their families alleged that the victims were gang raped and then murdered.

One hopes it's not a ploy to divert CBI’s attention

A case was lodged against seven persons, including two policemen, and all the accused were arrested by police and UP SIT after the state government faced severe criticism for deteriorating law and order in the state. All the accused are under police custody now.

The CBI has reportedly brought fathers of the rape victims, another family member and a witness at Central Forensic Science Laboratory in CGO complex in the national capital to undergo polygraph test. The agency has already taken the four persons' and the trial court's permission for the same.

In a latest report, the agency will exhume the bodies of the girls as it has determined that the autopsy in the controversial case was bungled and needs to be conducted again.

What forced the CBI to conduct polygraph test?

The agency has claimed that it is not ignoring the possibility of honour killing or property dispute behind the killing of the two girls as the recent developments have given a fresh twist to the entire case.

There are two main reasons for it:

First suspicion arose when fathers' of both the victims transferred Rs 1 lakh each to the two eyewitnesses' accounts.

Secondly, a damaged mobile phone has been retrieved which was owned by the elder one among the two girls who were victims of the tragic incident. The families had earlier denied presence of any phones with the girls but later admitted that the elder girl possessed a phone and submitted it to the investigators.

These two reasons have forced the CBI to look into the possible angle of honour killing.

Is it a ploy to divert CBI's attention?

CBI may have cleared that it does not doubt the claims made by kin of the victims and needs to develop a flawless case. But one fears that this does not divert the entire investigation into some other direction and the real perpetrators escape from getting punished.

It is fine to probe every possible angle but the investigators must ensure that whatever they are doing must be done on a fast track basis. Cases in the past have shown how perpetrators escape from punishment due to excessive delay in the investigation and loss of evidence over the period of time. This should not happen in this case.

Why need for second autopsy?

Also, the reports of second autopsy once again questions the ability of the doctor who did the post-mortem at first place.

As per latest reports the lady doctors who conducted the autopsy of the two girls were first timers. This again raises the question over why any senior doctor wasn't present during the post-mortem in such a crucial case. The experts are now skeptical over the findings of the autopsy as it says - ‘suggestive of rape', which holds no meaning in medico-legal case.

All these developments are hinting towards one thing that the preliminary investigation wasn't done in a professional manner and the investigators are now perhaps covering up the mistakes which the authorities did during initial stages.

There is a dire need to dispose off the cases of rape on fast track basis as there is no dearth of such cases which need to be solved by the investigators.