Gurgaon: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the state home department to transfer the abetment to suicide case of a 17-year-old boy, who had jumped to death last year after being accused of sexual harassment by a former classmate in an Instagram post, to the state CID from Gurgaon police.
Pulling up the cops handling the case so far for a slow investigation, the NHRC also directed a probe into the role of the investigating officer, followed by departmental action if any negligence or laxity was found.
Asking the principal secretary (home) of the Haryana government to bring in the CID, the NHRC on June 9 observed that there hasn’t been a fair investigation in the case registered at Sector 53 police station in Gurgaon on May 5, 2020 under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC.
The 17-year-old had jumped to death from the balcony of his flat in DLF-5 the previous night.
The post, written in the wake of the “BoisLockerRoom scandal that was breaking on social media at that time, was shared by the girl the same evening.
The 17-year-old was viciously trolled after that.
The trolls turned on the girl after the boy died by suicide.
“The investigating officer will also inquire (into) the role of police/IOs for committing lapses during the investigation and take suitable action against them, if found guilty.
As the complaint involves a serious issue, in which the life of a young boy has gone because of cybercrime,” said the NHRC missive.
The state has to submit a report within eight weeks.
The NHRC response came after a complaint was filed by the boy’s father.
His counsel Amish Aggarwala told TOI, “The accused and their accomplices are still scot-free, making a mockery of the legal process.
They have used all possible unfair means to derail justice.
The tragedy is that justice has been delayed and denied to the boy and his parents.” The boy’s father said, “With all the information available, statements of the witnesses show it was a planned and strategised conspiracy between several persons.” His son, he added, lost his life due to a “mischievous, prejudiced, imaginary and slanderous post” made on social media by the girl.
The boy, the father claimed, was bullied and threatened after the post that pushed him to commit suicide.
In July 2020, a Gurgaon court while hearing the case had observed that “the investigating officers are working at a low pace in the present matter for reasons best known to them”.
The court exercised its power under Section 156(3) of the CrPC to monitor the investigation.
According to the girl, the alleged incident took place they were both in Class X and had become friends.
The boy, she claimed, had come to her housing society and proposed a walk in the basement.
There, she claimed, he had touched her inappropriately and demanded sexual favours.
After her post, another one by a person identifying himself as the brother of the teenager claimed the boy had received threat calls and texts, after which he had tried to defend himself and also told his friends he was innocent.
According to this post, the boy couldn’t handle the constant threats and believed his side of the story would not be heard.
The writer of the post also lashed out at the girl, saying she should have gone to the authorities to file a complaint if she thought she was right.