SYSTEM UNDER SCRUTINY

SYSTEM UNDER SCRUTINY

24-JAN-ENG 4

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-----------------------------The suspicious death of a student preparing for NEET in Patna is no longer just a case, but has become a charge sheet against both the intentions and actions of the system...

The suspicious death of a student preparing for NEET in Patna is no longer just a case, but has become a charge sheet against both the intentions and actions of the system. What is the police saying first...? The SIT, which is reviewing the files of Shambhu Girls Hostel, private hospitals, and Chitragupt Nagar police station, suspects that if something untoward has happened, its links might extend beyond Patna to Jehanabad or some other location. But the family members are not satisfied with this theory. They say that this case reeks of a misleading investigation and a managed narrative. Some questions are now being openly asked.

The first suspicion is on the inner workings of the hostel. In the Shambhu Girls Hostel, which was being described as a safe zone, the caretakers Neetu and Chanchala have gone underground since the incident. Hostel owner Neelam Agarwal and her son are also behind the scenes. The Chitragupt Nagar police take Neelam from Prabhat Hospital to the police station and then release her. The question is simple: if everything is above board, why are the responsible people not coming forward?

The story of the hospitals is even more complicated. On January 6, the student was found unconscious, and three private hospitals were changed. First, viral meningitis, then a blood clot in the brain, and suddenly, after death, the narrative changed to an overdose of narcotic drugs. The family members allege that the illness was concealed during treatment and the script was changed after death. Now they are demanding a CBI inquiry, questioning whether this was not medical negligence, but a well-planned conspiracy?

The second major complication is regarding the CCTV footage. The SIT is only reviewing recordings from December 27 to January 6, while the family has been demanding footage from December 5.  It is alleged that they have not been shown a single piece of footage. The hours on the night the student fell ill are the most crucial, and those recordings are the most suspicious.

The third and most serious question concerns Roshni Kumari, the SHO of Chitragupta Nagar police station. Not sealing the room, the 72-hour delay, and having the DVR retrieved by a private driver are all actions that contaminate the investigation. Surprisingly, the very officers who were supposed to be kept away from the investigation were seen at the scene with the SIT. Is this a defiance of orders or the influence of a powerful hand? After the student's death on January 11, as pressure mounted on the police, ASP Abhinav appeared at a press conference the very next day, January 12, and declared it an attempted suicide based on the discovery of sleeping pills in the room. Police officers continued to repeat this theory until the post-mortem report arrived. But the family's question is direct and pointed: if it was a suicide, how did the injury marks appear on the body? Was the haste in giving a clean chit without a thorough investigation an attempt to protect someone?

Meanwhile, the impartiality of the investigation became even more questionable when Roshni Kumari, the SHO of Chitragupta Nagar, who had been instructed to stay away from the investigation, was seen roaming around the scene with the SIT team. The question arises: when the SIT has been entrusted with an independent and impartial investigation, why are the old characters not kept behind the scenes? Is this negligence on the part of the system or an indication of a deeper conspiracy?

The name of the hostel owner, Manish Ranjan alias Manish Chandravanshi, is also under suspicion in the case. Manish, who came to Patna from Jehanabad, has a story of rising from an ordinary job to accumulating crores of rupees in assets. A job paying 15,000 rupees in 2020, an oxygen supply agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then suddenly a huge amount of land and property – this rapid rise itself raises many questions. Moreover, his criminal record is not clean either. His name is already on police files in a case of celebratory firing. However, the name of hostel owner Manish Chandravanshi alias Manish Ranjan is also on the investigation radar due to his rapidly acquired wealth, old criminal record, and political ambitions. The cleaning of the room within 72 hours and the suspicious handling of digital evidence have further deepened the suspicion. If everything is above board, then the question remains why Manish's bail application was rejected by the High Court.

Now, the police are investigating his old tenders, oxygen supply funds, and the real faces behind him. This NEET student death case is no longer just a mysterious death, but a test of the system's credibility, where every answer raises a new question.

The NEET student death case is now more than just the death of a girl; it is a litmus test of the accountability of the law, the police, and the administration. The question is, when will the truth come out, or will this file also be buried in some cupboard?