Kolkata Police on Friday filed an FIR against three policemen of Karaya police station in connection with the death of 33-year-old Mir Amirul Islam, who had set himself on fire on December 3 alleging harassment and atrocities by the policemen after he stood up for a rape victim.

Sub-Inspectors Vinod Kumar and Ranjit Yadav and constable Naseem Khan have been charged with abetment of suicide. A departmental inquiry too has been initiated against the policemen, who have been stripped off of their present posts and asked to report to the headquarters.

Amirul, who had stood up for a rape victim, died on January 1 after a prolonged stay in a city hospital where he was admitted with severe burn injuries. He and his four friends — Rajesh, Parvez, Dilip and Arshad — had been helping the mother of the rape victim to legally fight against a local thug and police informer Shahzada Bux who allegedly had been raping the victim for over a year. Instead of booking Shahzada, Karaya police station officials filed FIRs against Amirul and charged him with stealing and robbery at Shahzada’s house. They also allegedly threatened Amirul of dire consequences. Frustrated, Amirul set himself on fire in front of the police station.

The latest police action, has failed to satisfy Amirul’s family and friend’s who are now demanding a CBI probe into the incident. “We don’t believe there would be an unbiased inquiry by the police. They would like to shield their men,” said Amirul’s lawyer and friend Sheikh Naushad Hussain.

The family was also invited to meet Kolkata Police Commissioner R K Pachnanda, which they turned down.

“The family has lost faith in police administration and believe that these requests are made by the administration only because it is under pressure,” said a close family member of Amirul.

The family has, meanwhile, alleged that Shahzada’s brother, Kamru, along with his friends Amir, Samsher and Langda Salim had been threatening them with dire consequences. “In spite of putting in a complaint, they have been roaming scott free,” a family member said.

The West Bengal Human Rights Commission on Friday took a suo moto cognizance into the death of Amirul Islam and directed Kolkata Police to submit a report within two weeks. “The Commission has today instructed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into the matter by a senior police official,” said an official of the WBHRC.