Jaipur, May 21 : The Rajasthan High Court has strongly criticised the police investigation into a jewellery theft case in Nagaur district after it emerged that the probe was influenced by a â??tantrikâ?? (witch doctor).

The court observed that a criminal investigation cannot be carried out on the dictates of a tantrik and ordered the removal of the investigating officer within 15 days.

The order was passed by the single bench of Justice Munnuri Laxman while hearing a petition filed by 80-year-old petitioner Khemi Devi, a resident of Utwalia village under Sri Balaji police station limits in Nagaur district. The court directed the Nagaur Superintendent of Police to transfer the investigation from Sri Balaji police station to a sub-inspector or higher-ranking officer from another police station.

According to the petition, Khemi Devi had lodged an FIR on March 8, alleging theft of gold and silver jewellery belonging to her and her daughter-in-law from their home on the night of March 7. Her counsel, advocate Manohar Singh Rathore, told the court that despite being provided with the names of suspected persons, the investigating officer, Head Constable Ratiram, failed to recover the stolen jewellery or identify the accused.

The petition further alleged that instead of relying on evidence, the investigating officer resorted to superstition and allegedly visited a tantrik in Alwar district along with the daughter-in-lawâ??s father and some village elders.

According to the petitioner, the tantrik allegedly claimed that the daughter-in-lawâ??s father was involved in the theft, after which the police began treating him as a suspect without any concrete evidence and attempted to frame him in the case.

During the hearing, Public Prosecutor Vikram Singh Rajpurohit, appearing for the state government, submitted a status report received from the Nagaur Superintendent of Police. The report stated that the investigating officer had questioned several suspects and visited multiple places during the investigation. While the prosecution denied that villagers had been taken to the tantrik, it admitted that the investigating officer had visited the tantrikâ??s place in Alwar district.

After examining the status report and hearing both sides, Justice Munnuri Laxman observed that there was a possibility the investigation had been influenced or tainted by the tantrikâ??s opinions.

The court said an independent and impartial investigation was necessary to identify the actual culprits and held that under no circumstances could a criminal investigation be conducted at the behest of a tantrik.

On these grounds, the High Court ordered the removal of the present investigating officer and directed that the probe be handed over to another officer within 15 days.

/IANS