LUCKNOW: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the death of Kanpur businessman Manish Gupta at a hotel in Gorakhpur during a police raid has slapped murder charge against six cops accused of assaulting him. The agency submitted its chargesheet before a special judicial magistrate on Friday.
Gupta died on the night of September 27. The CBI, which took over the case after initial investigation by the local police, had registered a case of murder against six cops on the basis of the FIR lodged by Manish's wife Meenakshi Gupta. His family has been insisting from day one that the incident was that of murder.
Those named in the chargesheet included inspector Jagat Narayan Singh, sub-inspectors Akshay Kumar Mishra, Vijay Yadav, Rahul Dubey, head constable Kamlesh Singh Yadav and constable Prashant Kumar.
The CBI investigators, however, were earlier of the view that the case was bordering on culpable homicide not amounting to murder. This was primarily on the premise that there was no apparent and direct motive which happens to be as essential component of a murder case. Sources in the CBI said murder charges were ultimately included on the basis of the forensic reports about the injuries that Manish Gupta had suffered.
The post mortem report had concluded that Manish died due to coma as a result of ante mortem injuries. He had suffered a total of four injuries, two on his head and one each on right arm and right elbow.
The CBI's forensic experts have concluded in their report that the injuries were so severe in nature that those inflicting such injuries would know that they can lead to his death more so because the accused happen to be policemen and were more aware of such facts than a common man. "On the basis of the basis of the forensic report we sought legal opinion and proceeded with the murder charge," said a senior officer associated with the investigations.
All the accused are in jail on charges of murder, voluntarily causing hurt, voluntarily causing grievous hurt, criminal intimidation, public servant framing incorrect record, causing disappearance of evidence, criminal conspiracy, and also charges of every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object.
