4 special CBI teams may hold region-wise probe into post-poll violence in Bengal

The teams will be assisted by local officers from the agency’s Kolkata office and will be under the overall supervision of additional director Ajay Bhatnagar.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been directed by the Calcutta high court to probe cases of alleged murder, attempts to murder and rape reported during the post-poll violence in West Bengal, is likely to divide the entire state into four zones on the basis of the number of complaints received, people familiar with the matter said.

At least 172 complaints were received from Kolkata. (ANI)

Four special teams, comprising seven members each, are slated to arrive in the state next week to take charge of complaints from north, south, west and Kolkata zones, respectively, the people cited above said, adding that separate FIRs could be filed for each allegation of rape and murder.

“Four special teams, each headed by a joint director, are likely to take up the investigations in each zone. For each allegation of rape and murder, separate FIR would be lodged instead of clubbing them into one complaint,” a CBI official said on condition of anonymity.

The teams will be assisted by local officers from the agency’s Kolkata office and will be under the overall supervision of additional director Ajay Bhatnagar.

The top five districts, from where the seven-member enquiry committee set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) received maximum number of complaints, were Cooch Behar, Birbhum, Kolkata North 24 Parganas, East Burdwan and South 24 Parganas.

While Birbhum and East Burdwan, located in the western part of the state, received 314 and 113 complaints, respectively, Cooch Behar in north Bengal topped the list with 322 complaints. North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in south Bengal received 196 and 203 complaints, respectively.

At least 172 complaints were received from Kolkata.

On Thursday, the Calcutta high court ordered separate probes by the CBI and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police into the alleged violence. A five-judge bench headed by acting chief justice Rajesh Bindal said the CBI will probe the serious allegations of rape and murder and a three-member SIT those of arson and loot under the court’s supervision.

The central agency on Friday sought details of all cases of alleged murder, attempt to murder and rape reported during the violence from the state police.

While speculations are rife that the West Bengal government may challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court, two caveats by advocate Anindya Sundar Das and advocate Priyanka Tibrewal have already been filed in the apex court.

Welcoming the high court order, Biswajit Sarkar, brother of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Abhijit Sarkar who was allegedly murdered by Trinamool Congress workers in Kolkata on May 2, said: “The attackers had used wires to drag my brother. They had assaulted me too but my brother was their primary target. Hopefully I will get justice now.”

In South 24 Parganas, one Sankar Adhikari recounted how his brother Haran Adhikari was killed near their house in Sonarpur on the same night.

“The TMC had been threatening my brother for many days as he was a BJP supporter and used to chant Jai Shri Ram. He was attacked after the results were declared. His face was almost not recognizable. Hopefully all these would be probed, and the culprits would be hanged,” he said.

The BJP has already released the names of 42 party workers, including Sarkar and Adhikari, who were allegedly killed in the post-poll violence.

The TMC, however, has denied any post-poll incident after May 5, when chief minister Mamata Banerjee took oath for a second term.

“We have been telling right from the beginning that there has been massive post poll violence. The NHRC report also said this. Now, the high court has said the same thing. The state has been denying this from the very beginning,” BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

At Nanoor in Birbhum where allegations of a gang rape surfaced, police said that no such incidents had taken place.

“There is absolute peace in the district. There has been no violence. The BJP is bringing false allegations. Let the CBI come and investigate,” TMC’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondol said.