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24 Knife Wounds Indicate Multiple Assailants: Directs in Murder
A brutal double homicide of two septuagenarian professors has prompted the to order a fresh round of police investigation, after a critical look at the postmortem findings cast doubt on the theory of a single culprit.
Justice Jitendra Kumar, presiding over a , allowed a filed by Rakshita Singh — the daughter of the deceased couple — directing to undertake under . Crucially, the Court declined to halt the ongoing of the sole charge-sheeted accused, noting the proceedings are nearly complete.
The Crime That Shook Bhojpur
The case stems from Ara Nawada P.S. Case No. 62 of 2023, registered under . The victims, Mahendra Prasad Singh and Dr. Pushpa Singh, were both retired professors in their seventies, residing in Bhojpur district. They were found murdered in their home, killed with sharp-edged weapons.
The painted a gruesome picture: Mahendra Prasad Singh had sustained a staggering 24 incised wounds , while Dr. Pushpa Singh suffered two fatal incised wounds to her neck . Both died from .
Despite the ferocity of the attack, police submitted a on , against just one individual — Tapan Dey @ Deepak Kumar — and closed the investigation.
A Daughter's Quest for Justice
Initially, Rakshita Singh sought a transfer of the entire investigation to the , along with a direction for further probe. During the hearing, however, she relinquished the CBI demand, confining her to by the police.
Her argument was grounded in forensic logic: the sheer number and nature of injuries inflicted made it
"not possible that only one person had committed this double murder"
in the manner suggested by the
. The pattern of wounds, she contended, strongly implied the involvement of more than one perpetrator who remained at large.
The State raised no objection to the . Counsel for the — the brother of one of the victims — also supported , while pragmatically urging that the against the existing accused should not be derailed, as it had reached its "fag end" with 12 of 14 already examined.
"Strong Possibility of Involvement of More Than One Culprit"
The Court found the petitioner's logic compelling. In its reasoning, it highlighted the of the :
"As per the P.M. report, one victim has received 24 incised wounds on the body, whereas other victim has received two incised wounds on her neck. This manner of the commission of the offence shows strong possibility of involvement of more than one culprit in this case."
The Court further observed that closing the investigation after filing a against a solitary accused was legally untenable:
"Hence, the closure of the investigation after submission of charge sheet against only one accused does not appear to be just and proper."
Balancing Justice and Procedural Efficiency
The High Court's decision reflects a careful balance between two competing interests — uncovering the full truth of a heinous crime, and respecting the significant judicial resources already invested in the pending .
The Court directed the police to conduct under Section 193(9) of BNSS, 2023, which empowers authorities to pursue leads beyond the initial . Simultaneously, it instructed the court to proceed unabated against Tapan Dey @ Deepak Kumar. The petitioner, herself a prosecution witness, was directed to appear for as and when summoned.
Implications of the Ruling
This judgment reinforces the principle that a does not represent a permanent investigative ceiling — where contradicts the theory of a lone offender, the police retain a duty to probe deeper. The patently violent nature of the attack, which left one victim riddled with two dozen wounds, will now be re-examined through fresh investigative lenses, potentially bringing additional perpetrators to justice while the existing moves toward its conclusion.
