Ranchi, Nov 13 Senior BJP leader Babulal Marandi on Friday termed the alleged sodomy incident at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail “horrifying” and a “disgrace to humanity”, while demanding a CBI inquiry into it.
A man has filed a police complaint against 19 people, including officials of the jail, alleging his 20-year-old son was sodomised and forced to consume narcotics when he was lodged there as an undertrial prisoner, police said.
Marandi, the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, also demanded the removal of the inspector general (prison).
“Serious allegations were mentioned in the FIR that the ward in-charge tore up the victim’s written complaint, he was denied treatment at the prison hospital despite bleeding, and he was not even given a medical examination at the time of his release,” Marandi said in a post on X.
According to the FIR, the police received information on November 4, he claimed.
“Why, then, did it take eight days to register the FIR?” Marandi said.
Marandi also asserted that this was not the first time such a complaint has surfaced.
“In May 2026, a case involving the alleged sexual exploitation of a female prisoner at the same jail and her pregnancy came to light. After I raised the matter, the Jharkhand High Court took suo motu cognisance,” he claimed.
“I demand that the CBI be entrusted with a fair and comprehensive investigation into the current case, the case involving the female prisoner in May 2026, and previous serious cases at Hotwar Jail,” Marandi said.
The complainant, a resident of the Ratu Police Station area, said his son was lodged in jail as an undertrial prisoner in connection with a case, and that he was acquitted of all charges on June 12.
The victim was in mental trauma after his release from jail and narrated the ordeal to his family, a police officer said, citing the complaint lodged by his father.
He alleged that undertrial “gangs” in the jail sodomised him on three occasions and forced him to consume narcotics, the officer said.
However, a jail official claimed that there were no direct allegations against the prison administration in the FIR.
The complainant alleged prisoners’ involvement in the incident and dereliction of duty against few officials, he said.
“The jail authority is also conducting an internal probe,” he added.
Meanwhile, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) on Friday said it has appointed Mamta Srivastava as a pro bono advocate for legal aid to the victim.
“An application has been sent to a compensation committee for further action,” the DLSA said.
The youth had complained to the DLSA that his FIR was not being lodged at Khelgaon police station, it added.
(PTI News)
