Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) The Supreme Court will Thursday pass orders on an independent medical examination of suspected Maoist conduit Soni Sori for the injuries she allegedly suffered while she was in Chhattisgarh Police custody earlier this month.

The tribal teacher, arrested in Delhi Oct 4 by Chhattisgarh Police, is accused of receiving “protection money” from the Essar group on behalf of the rebels. The company has denied funding the Maoists.

Sori was taken from Delhi to Raipur by Chhattisgarh Police Oct 7. A judicial magistrate in Chhattisgarh Oct 8 remanded her to police custody till Oct 10.

While the Chhattisgarh government said that the independent medical examination of the Sori could be done at Nagpur as it was closest to Raipur, her counsel Colin Gonsalves suggested that she could be examined at Kolkata-based Nilratan Sarkar Medical College and Hospital.

The apex court bench of Justice Altamas Kabir, Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice C.K. Prasad earlier asked the Chhattisgarh government to pick either Bangalore, Kolkata or Nagpur for the independent medical examination of Sori.

Gonsalves pleaded for the independent medical examination of Sori alleging that she was tortured and electrocuted by police.

He said that Sori should be brought to Delhi for medical examination. He also sought that her case be entrusted to a special investigation team (SIT).

The court said that other pleas involving shifting her to Delhi and setting up of a SIT would be heard later.

Gonsalves referred to reports of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada and Raipur districts to point out that Sori suffered injuries during police custody.

The senior counsel said that she did not get injured in a fall in the bathroom.

Sori who was to be presented in a Chhattisgarh court Oct 10 was not brought to court by police alleging that “the accused (Soni Sori) while taking bath in the morning, fell down in the bathroom and sustained injuries on the head and the waist”.

Police Oct 11 shifted Sori to Raipur-based Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Medical College and Hospital from Jagdalpur, headquarters of the Bastar region, where doctors suggested advanced treatment for her injuries on the head and lower back.

Chhattisgarh government’s counsel Atul Jha told the apex court that Sori had not suffered any fracture as revealed by two medical reports, including X-rays and the CT scan.

As Jha said that Sori had not suffered any fracture, Gonsalves said that police nowadays didn’t break bones during interrogation.

In an affidavit, a Delhi-based human rights activist Gautam Navlakha told the court that Chhattisgarh Police were intimidating her saying that if she told the court about her torture then her younger brother Ramdev too would be arrested.