Rabin Nemu vs State Of West Bengal And Others

Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J

Affidavit of service filed in Court today be kept on record. The grievance of the petitioner is that the daughter of the petitioner apparently committed suicide, due to threats issued regarding circulation and publication of certain compromising photographs of the said daughter by certain miscreants. In that regard, the said miscreants, apparently without knowledge of the daughter of the petitioner having already having committed suicide, approached the petitioner for money and indicated that there would be evidence of such compromising photographs in the mobile phone of the daughter, which would be circulated in the event the petitioner did not pay up. The petitioner having discovered the truth of the existence of such photographs of his deceased daughter on her mobile phone, immediately lodged a complaint with the local police as regards cyber crime having committed against his daughter, which might have led to the suicide as well.

However, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the local police station, which is now conducting the investigation, does not have the necessary infrastructure to investigate into such crime of a sophisticated nature as far as technology is concerned and as such the matter ought to be directed to be investigated by the Cyber Crime Cell of the C.I.D.

Learned counsel for the petitioner, in this context, cites an unreported judgment dated February 18, 2019 passed in CRM 650 of 2019 (Subhendu Nath Vs. State of West Bengal) passed by a Division Bench of this Court, which laid down certain guidelines as to investigation of such matters, which indicate that a highly sophisticated training and methodology ought to be adopted in dealing with such Information Technology Crimes.

Upon hearing the petitioner and the respondent-authorities, it is evident that the local police station does not and cannot have such a sophisticated machinery and/or infrastructure to investigate properly into the said crime.

Accordingly, W.P. No. 20966(W) of 2019 is disposed of by directing the investigation as to the death of the daughter of the petitioner as well as the alleged cyber crime committed against her to be transferred from the local police station at Khanakul to the Cyber Crime Cell of the C.I.D.

The petitioner, the respondent no.2 as well as the C.I.D. are directed to cooperate with each other in the matter so that the investigation by the Cyber Crime Cell of the C.I.D. can be undertaken as expeditiously as possible, rendering justice to the unfortunate deceased at the earliest.

The petitioner shall communicate this order to the concerned Cyber Crime Cell of the C.I.D.

There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified website copies of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all requisite formalities.