Agartala: In a rather shocking turn of events, allegations of sexual harassment of a rape victim have been levelled against a judicial officer posted at the Kamalpur sub-divisional Court. The incident reportedly occurred when the victim was summoned to the judge’s chamber for recording her testimony under CrPC section 164.
The incident has sparked serious repercussions in the administration. The woman lodged her complaint in the form of a written affidavit to the court of additional district and session judge Kamalpur.
Her husband submitted a letter to the secretary of the local Bar association seeking justice. EastMojo has accessed both documents.
According to the affidavit she filed with the Court, the rape victim wrote: “On February 16, 2024, I was summoned to record my statement as a victim in cases lodged with the Kachucherra police station at the chamber of Judicial Magistrate first class. The judicial magistrate first class had called me inside his room and the police constable was asked to stay outside the chamber. By his direction, I narrated everything that I had suffered at the hands of my perpetrator.”
Narrating the incident that happened inside the chamber, she added: “After a while, he stood up from his chair and proceeded towards the main door. He shut the door and groped me from the backside. He touched my private parts. When I asked why he had been doing such things, he said it was a part of the procedure. I could not roll back my tears and started to weep. He released me as soon as he noticed tears in my eyes. The name of the judicial magistrate is Biswatosh Dhar.”
Later she was asked to sit outside the chamber. The woman later narrated everything to her husband. They left the Court premises for a while only to return and file an affidavit against the judicial magistrate.
As soon as the news burst out in the public domain, the whole administration got into a tizzy. District and Session judge Dhalai district Goutam Sarkar paid a visit to the Kamalpur court on Saturday for stock-taking and gathering initial inputs.
He interacted with some of the lawyers and officials. Sources in the law department said intervention of the High Court would be sought into the matter.
EastMojo also spoke to Registrar General of Tripura High Court Viswajit Pandey on the issue. “We didn’t receive any official complaint on the incident. If the High Court receives any complaint immediate measures would be initiated,” he said.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that chaos hit the court on February 16, after the woman raised serious allegations against the judicial magistrate.
Keshab Bhowmik, a practising lawyer in Kamalpur court said, “I was not present when the incident happened. All the lawyers came to know about the incident when the victim and her husband returned to the Court to file the affidavit.”
The victim hails from a village under the jurisdiction of Kachucherra police station. On February 08 last, she was raped. Accordingly, a police case was lodged with the local police station and the accused was arrested. She was summoned to the Court for her statement under section 164 (5) of CrPC.
In his letter to the Bar Association secretary, the husband of the rape victim, a day wage labourer, said, “My wife informed me everything that she faced inside the chamber of the judge. I was quite shocked and fell short of words when she was narrating the whole incident at the court premises. I brought the matter to the notice of lawyers practising in the court who had advised me to seek justice through your office.”
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Meanwhile, the Judicial Magistrate reportedly informed some local journalists that he was being falsely framed in the case and that he had enough evidence to prove that he was not guilty.
Also Read: Tripura: Two minors sexually harassed, probe begins