Trials in the case of double murder of Prof. Papiya Ghosh of Patna University and Malti Devi on 3rd December 2006 at Patna
To: Cs-Bihar@nic.in TO, Mr. Amir Subhani, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt of Bihar, Patna Dear Mr. Subhani, On the 16th anniversary of the tragic and gruesome murder of my sister, Professor Papiya Ghosh of Patna University and her Attendant, Malti Devi, I again request the Government of Bihar to provide information on the status of the two Trials ,as below, which has been denied to me for years, in spite of several communications to the Chief Minister and your predecessors-in-office. The first Trial, against five accused , ST No 188 of FTC, 2007, Patna, had delivered a guilty verdict in 2008, with the death penalty for one accused ( not confirmed, however, by the Patna High Court) and varying terms of imprisonment for the others, which was reportedly challenged in the Supreme Court in a Criminal Appeal Case, Ram Chandra Mahto vs. State of Bihar, No. 10327/10. In spite of trying to obtain details of the appeal by corresponding with Shri Gopal Singh, Standing Counsel , I have , unfortunately, drawn a blank. In the second Trial, taken up after a long gap, in 2012, in FT Court, ST No 1015 of ADJ 3, First Civil Court, Patna, there has reportedly been no progress, on various grounds, inter-alia, related to Case Records not being available, witnesses not showing up etc. As learnt through Mr. Anil Sinha, Public Prosecutor , assigned by Government of Bihar (Mobile No- 9905299936) , the matter has evidently stalled. In the circumstances, I urge you, as an aggrieved family member of the victim and a former Service colleague , to kindly have the cases looked into , on priority- given the inordinate delay- and the update intimated . I may add that my father, Ujjal Kumar Ghosh, IAS, was also a victim of a heinous crime, while holding a senior position in the Government of Bihar ,way back in 1957! Both my father and sister, who contributed much in their own way to the State, still await justice . Kindly advise your office to acknowledge receipt and take up the related issues with the concerned Authorities. Season's Greetings & Regards, Dr. Tuktuk Ghosh, 1AS (Rtd) New Delhi. Dated: 27th December 2022.