HC raps police for lapses in probe into egg donor’s deathThe Bombay High Court on Monday pulled up the Mumbai Police for its shoddy investigation into the death of 17-year-old Sushma Pandey, an oocyte donor who died under mysterious circumstances in 2010. “This is not the manner in which such serious offences are to be investigated,” Justice Revati Mohite Dere said. Pandey had donated eggs or oocyte at the ‘Rotunda – The centre for human reproduction’ in Bandra, two days prior to her death on August 10, 2010. Before she died at Rajawadi Hospital, Pandey had complained of pain in the abdomen and vomiting. Her employer Sunil Chaumal, accused of poisoning her, was discharged by the High Court. Sanaullah Mustakin
Khan alias Shanu, who allegedly accompanied Pandey to the Rotunda Hospital, too has urged the High Court to discharge him in the case. Justice Dere questioned the Saki Naka police for not arresting Noorjahan Munir, who allegedly posed as Pandey’s guardian. “What happened to Noorjahan? And the doctors who performed the procedure? As far as the investigation is concerned, you (police) have done nothing,” said the court. When contacted, Munir told The Indian Express she was working as a social worker attached to the Rotunda Centre for the last six-seven years. “I am not educated. I had been a donor myself. I got other interested women to become donors. They were referred to me by friends and acquaintances,” she said. Munir said she could not remember if Pandey had brought a PAN card to the hospital to prove her age. “It has been a while and I don’t remember,” she said. In her statement to the police on August 13, 2010, Munir had claimed that she met Pandey on a local train in January 2009. She said that Pandey, who appeared to be about 20, was weeping because her mother asked her to earn money through immoral means. Munir’s statement quotes Pandey as saying, “I have already undergone two abortions. I have secretly married a Muslim boy who is unemployed. Hence, I have not told my mother about our marriage.” Munir then reportedly informed Pandey about the Rotunda Centre. She claimed Pandey contacted her a month later for egg donation. “Why was Noorjahan not made an accused?” asked Justice Dere. Additional Public Prosecutor Usha Kejriwal admitted the police had done nothing in the investigation. The court asked the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police to be present in court on January 16 and inform the court about the action they propose. Shanu’s lawyer, Kaushik Mhatre, argued that Chaumal had been discharged in the case and there was no witness who had seen Shanu accompanying Pandey to the hospital. Justice Dere, however, said that in the light of a recent ruling of a Supreme Court, even a discharged accused can be summoned by the court. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/hc-raps-police-for-lapses-in-probe-into-egg-donors-death/#sthash.d5VlxHsi.dpuf
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Khan alias Shanu, who allegedly accompanied Pandey to the Rotunda Hospital, too has urged the High Court to discharge him in the case. Justice Dere questioned the Saki Naka police for not arresting Noorjahan Munir, who allegedly posed as Pandey’s guardian. “What happened to Noorjahan? And the doctors who performed the procedure? As far as the investigation is concerned, you (police) have done nothing,” said the court. When contacted, Munir told The Indian Express she was working as a social worker attached to the Rotunda Centre for the last six-seven years. “I am not educated. I had been a donor myself. I got other interested women to become donors. They were referred to me by friends and acquaintances,” she said. Munir said she could not remember if Pandey had brought a PAN card to the hospital to prove her age. “It has been a while and I don’t remember,” she said. In her statement to the police on August 13, 2010, Munir had claimed that she met Pandey on a local train in January 2009. She said that Pandey, who appeared to be about 20, was weeping because her mother asked her to earn money through immoral means. Munir’s statement quotes Pandey as saying, “I have already undergone two abortions. I have secretly married a Muslim boy who is unemployed. Hence, I have not told my mother about our marriage.” Munir then reportedly informed Pandey about the Rotunda Centre. She claimed Pandey contacted her a month later for egg donation. “Why was Noorjahan not made an accused?” asked Justice Dere. Additional Public Prosecutor Usha Kejriwal admitted the police had done nothing in the investigation. The court asked the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police to be present in court on January 16 and inform the court about the action they propose. Shanu’s lawyer, Kaushik Mhatre, argued that Chaumal had been discharged in the case and there was no witness who had seen Shanu accompanying Pandey to the hospital. Justice Dere, however, said that in the light of a recent ruling of a Supreme Court, even a discharged accused can be summoned by the court. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/hc-raps-police-for-lapses-in-probe-into-egg-donors-death/#sthash.d5VlxHsi.dpuf
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