Stating that the West Bengal police can no longer be trusted to investigate the Birbhum violence, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.
Eight people were burnt to death in the Rampurhat area of Birbhum on Tuesday after a mob allegedly set houses on fire following the killing of Trinamool Congress leader Bhadu Sheikh.
After a two-day hearing, a division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava ruled in favour of the CBI probe. The court said in a statement that the state police could no longer be relied upon and that it was important to conduct a transparent investigation into the case.
The high court also directed the state government to hand over the case to the CBI soon and co-operate with the agency. The state-appointed SIT will not be able to conduct any further investigation in the case, the court said.
The CBI has been directed to submit a report by April 7.
The relatives of the victims expressed satisfaction over the decision. A relative of a deceased said: “There will be a fair trial now. That’s what we wanted.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the decision. West Bengal BJP president and party MP Sukanta Majumdar said: “We welcome the decision of the Calcutta High Court. Democracy has fallen in West Bengal. Now the High Court’s order will help in instilling people’s faith in democracy. I believe the CBI will bring the leaders who are involved in a larger conspiracy under justice. These leaders will be sent to jail. We had specific information that these leaders directed police to reach the spot late after houses were gutted in the fire.”
BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government had formed the SIT to suppress the truth. “Everyone demanded CBI inquiry. Everyone knows that Mamata Banerjee constituted SIT to suppress the case. Innocent people are murdered there but she is not accepting her government’s failure.”
Left leader Sujan Chakraborty said: “We have said before that the SIT is an attempt to push. That is what has become clear this time. However, there is no difference between Mamata’s SIT and Amit Shah’s CBI.”
Priyanka Tibrewal, counsel for the plaintiff, said that she had questioned the court as to why Gyanwant Singh was later given the responsibility even though there was no time to form a seat. She also questioned the role of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Hours after the high court’s order, the CBI’s forensic team reached Rampurhat on Friday.
Meanwhile, BJP MLAs staged a protest on the Assembly premises against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, demanding her statement over the violence. “The SIT by the state government was an attempt to suppress the facts. We had demanded a CBI inquiry in the case so that truth can be divulged. We thank the High Court for ordering a CBI probe in the case. We believe that a fair inquiry will be done now and justice will be given to the victims and their families,” the BJP MLAs said.
“We also demand that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inform the house over the entire incident and also hold a discussion in the House. Our protest will continue until the chief minister gives a statement over the matter in the House,” they added. WITH INPUTS FROM ANI