CBI files closure report in Pocso court over death of 17-yr-old NEET aspirant in Bihar

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed a closure report before a special Pocso court in Patna in connection with the death of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant in a private hostel earlier this year.

Special public prosecutor Suresh Chandra Prasad said the report was submitted before special judge Rajiv Ranjan Raman. “The court has issued a notice to the informant [the girl’s father] and scheduled the next hearing for October 13,” Prasad said.

The girl, who was living in a private hostel in Patna and preparing for the medical entrance exam NEET-UG, was found unconscious in her hostel room on January 6. She died at a private hospital five days later.

On January 9, the Chitragupta Nagar police registered a case based on the statement of the father of the deceased student. Police had initially claimed that the girl died after consuming an excessive dose of sleeping pills.

The death sparked statewide demands for an independent probe after the autopsy did not rule out that she may have been sexually assaulted.

When the girl’s family accused the local police of conniving with the accused, a special investigation team (SIT) was set up and the hostel owner, Manish Kumar Ranjan, was arrested.

Following persistent demands from the family, the Bihar government finally handed over the case to the CBI on February 13.

Rajan was released on bail in April after the CBI confirmed it did not need him in prison.