The Supreme Court on Monday constituted a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the allegations of custodial torture of two women who were arrested during protests over the RG Kar rape and murder.

The SIT, made up of senior IPS officers, shall submit weekly status reports to Calcutta High Court, which has been entrusted with monitoring the investigation.

The team, which will replace the CBI probe directed by Calcutta High Court, can appoint more members.

The SIT members are Akash Magharia, DIG, Presidency Range; Sujata Kumari Veenapani, DCP, traffic, Howrah Police Commissionerate; and Swati Bhangalia, SP, cybercrime, Bengal police.

On November 11, the apex court had stayed a Calcutta High Court order of November 6 directing a CBI probe into the allegations of custodial torture made by Rebeka Khatun Molla and Rama Das, who had been arrested under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act during protests over the RK Kar rape and murder.

They were arrested based on cases registered at Falta police station.

The apex court had also directed that the proceedings of the SIT constituted by the state government on October 5 to probe the allegations of torture would be in abeyance.

While staying the CBI probe and keeping in abeyance the SIT inquiry, the apex court had asked the Bengal government to send a list of seven IPS officers from the Bengal cadre not domiciled in the state so they could be included in the SIT.

Such a list should include at least five women officers.

On Monday, after perusing the list submitted by the state, the court constituted the three-member team.

The bench passed the directions on a petition filed by the state seeking an urgent stay of the high court directions for a CBI probe.

The apex court said a CBI probe should be ordered only in exceptional cases because routinely referring cases to it overburdens the agency and demoralises the state police officers.

During the earlier hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state, had complained that directions to transfer investigations to the CBI are being passed in a routine manner without following the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court.