Patna, February 5: The Patna police have made significant revelations in the suspicious death of a NEET student preparing for the exam. Given the seriousness of the case, the Bihar government has handed the investigation over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to Patna police, initial investigations revealed that the victim’s family attempted to suppress the incident and did not file a First Information Report (FIR). However, the police took cognizance of the case based on information received from the hospital.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikeya Sharma stated that the hostel’s CCTV footage was sent to a specialized forensic lab, which confirmed that the footage had not been tampered with. The footage shows that the student returned to the hostel with a friend on January 5. That night, she stepped out of her room only twice for about two minutes each time and remained inside afterward. The following morning, when the room remained closed for an extended period, the warden and other students requested the guard to break down the door.
Technical and scientific investigations revealed that the student had been at her home in Jehanabad from December 27 to January 5. On her way back to Patna, she purchased a medication called ‘Amiton Plus’ from a medical store located at Arwal Mor in Jehanabad. The police confirmed this purchase through UPI transaction records, statements from the shopkeeper, and initial statements from family members.
The student was admitted to Prabhat Memorial Hospital from January 6 to January 10, where her condition remained critical. The hospital’s preliminary report indicated that the cause of death was a drug overdose. However, a subsequent report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) found traces of semen on the student’s undergarments, suggesting that sexual assault could not be ruled out.
Based on these findings, both the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and CBI have begun DNA profiling of potential suspects. Investigators recovered a personal diary and a mobile phone from the student’s hostel room. Forensic analysis of the mobile phone revealed that the student had searched online for cyanide and sleeping pills on December 24.
Police sources indicated that the information recorded in the diary provided crucial insights into the student’s mental state and personal struggles, which are now considered significant input for the CBI investigation.
In a major administrative action, the Patna police have suspended the Additional Station House Officer (ASHO) of Kadamkuan and the Station House Officer (SHO) of Chitragupt Nagar with immediate effect. SSP Sharma stated that this action was taken due to delays in sharing information and negligence of duty, emphasizing that timely information could have helped preserve crucial evidence.