Daijiworld Media Network - Hubballi
Hubballi, May 4: The funeral of Ritesh Kumar, a migrant labourer from Bihar who attempted to sexually assault and subsequently murdered a 5-year-old girl, was held on Saturday after he was killed in a police encounter.
The funeral took place in the presence of officials from the CID and the revenue department, 20 days after the incident.
On April 13, Ritesh Kumar attempted to sexually assault the five-year-old girl and later murdered her inside a toilet of an under-construction building before fleeing the scene. The incident sparked intense public outrage, leading to widespread protests.
Under pressure, the Ashokanagar police intensified their investigation and successfully arrested the accused by evening.
While gathering more information about the accused, police took him to the shed where he was hiding. During this time, the accused attacked the police and attempted to escape. Despite being warned twice with gunfire, he continued his escape attempt. The police were compelled to fire, resulting in the accused's death.
Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the High Court requesting that the accused's body not be cremated, as it could lead to the destruction of evidence. Consequently, the body of Ritesh, who died in the encounter, was kept in the cold storage of the KMC RI mortuary.
As the body began to decompose, the CID police wrote to KMC RI requesting custody of the body, citing that it was decomposing. They informed the court that the body needed to be buried due to its deteriorating condition.
The court, which was conducting the inquiry, recently granted permission for the funeral. It ordered that the body be buried. The body, which had been in the mortuary, was transported to the Bidanala cemetery on the outskirts of the city in the presence of CID ASP Venkatesh, with the process being recorded on video.
Municipal staff conducted the funeral at the cemetery as per the High Court's order, with CID AC Venkatesh, City Tahsildar Kalangowda, and ACP Shivaprakash Nayak present.
Despite extensive efforts by the police to trace the accused's family, they have reportedly yielded no results. Reports indicate that searches have been conducted in Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, but the family members have not been located. Consequently, it has been reported that the police themselves conducted the funeral.