The husband of the deceased was finally arrested a year and a half after the FIR was filed in the case of the death of Alipur’s businessman’s daughter Rashika Jain. Kushal Agarwal, son of an industrialist, was arrested from his home on D L Khan Road on Wednesday by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Kolkata Police. When Kushal was taken to court on Thursday, the judge remanded him in police custody for eight days. According to Rashika’s family, they have benefited from the legal battle. Although the victim’s family claims, their son is being framed.
Details of the incident
On February 16, 2021, Rashika was found in a bloody state from under the balcony of her in-laws on D L Khan Road. She later died in a private hospital in Alipore. After that, Rashika’s family filed a complaint with the Alipur police station against the people of her father-in-law’s house. An FIR under sections 306 (incitement to suicide), 498A (bride abuse) and 34 (criminal organization for the same) of the Indian Penal Code was filed the day after the incident, on February 17. Rashika’s parents, Mahendra Kumar and Sangeeta Jain, alleged that their daughter was being tortured in the in-laws’ house since marriage. They also claim that Rashika’s husband Kushal was addicted to drugs. It is further alleged that besides beating, Rashika was sometimes sent to obtain money and sometimes for good clothes. Kushal’s father Naresh and mother Nilam Agarwal were informed about this to no avail. Once Rashika came to know about Kushal’s other relationship, the unrest escalated and Rashika was forced to commit suicide, the Jain couple alleged.
Police investigation
Upon investigation, the police came to know that on February 9, 2020, Rashika-Kushal’s wedding ceremony took place in Rajasthan’s Umaid Bhavan with much grandeur. The cost was about 15 crore rupees. Rashika died after one year and seven days. The family of the deceased initially alleged that their daughter was thrown from a height, but the police did not find any evidence after viewing several CCTV footages. Initially they assumed that Rashika had committed suicide. But investigators did not leave his father-in-law’s house in doubt.
Meanwhile, Rashika’s relatives started complaining that the police are not arresting Kushal even though an FIR has been filed. The practice started on social media as well. Her family protested with a poster saying ‘We want justice for the incident of Rashika’.
Even after that, nobody was being arrested, Rashika’s parents met the then Police Commissioner Soumen Mitra about this complaint. He directed the Crime Against Women Wing of the Kolkata Police to look into the matter. A few months later, Rashika’s family approached the Calcutta High Court alleging negligence on the part of the police and that the case was not progressing. The court rejected Kushal’s application for interim bail and directed the formation of a special investigation team headed by Damayanti Sen. The matter was later taken to the Supreme Court. Kushal was arrested on Wednesday after he withdrew his interim bail application from the Supreme Court on Tuesday.