Bihar govt recommends CBI probe into NEET aspirant’s death; family seeks judicial inquiry

The Bihar government on Saturday recommended a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the death of a NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) aspirant, who died at a private hospital days after being found unconscious at her hostel in Patna amid allegations of sexual assault.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who also holds the Home portfolio, announced the decision in a post on X earlier in the day. The recommendation was later formalised through a notification issued by the state department.

However, the father of the deceased, who hailed from Jehanabad district, expressed dissatisfaction with the move and demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court.

“What will a CBI probe achieve? It will be no different from the shoddy probe by the SIT formed by the police. We never sought a CBI probe,” he told reporters in Jehanabad. “The government seems hell-bent on brushing the matter under the carpet and then declaring that Bihar has ‘sushasan’ (good governance).”

On Friday, the grieving parents had met Director General of Police Vinay Kumar. They later alleged that the police were treating the case as a suicide and ignoring the sexual assault angle, despite forensic reports indicating the presence of semen in the underclothes of the deceased.

A SIT (Special Investigation Team) of the Bihar Police is currently probing the case.

The NEET aspirant was found unconscious at the Shambhu Girls’ Hostel in Patna’s Chitragupt Nagar area earlier this month. She died on 11 January after remaining in a coma for several days.

Her family has alleged sexual assault and accused the authorities of attempting a cover-up. While the post-mortem report did not rule out the possibility of sexual violence, this contradicted the police’s initial claim that medical reports and CCTV footage had ruled out sexual assault. One hostel employee has been arrested in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said the decision to hand over the probe to the CBI reflected the failure of the NDA government’s law-and-order machinery.

“Instead of exposing the rape and murder of a NEET student, the Bihar government has once again proved that its administrative system is corrupt, incompetent and incapable of solving even such a grave case,” Yadav said in a post on X.

He cited earlier cases, including the Navruna incident, where he alleged the CBI had failed to bring investigations to a conclusion, and questioned whether similar outcomes would follow in the present case.