Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its second charge sheet in the ongoing probe into post-poll violence in West Bengal and accused four people of murdering a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker at Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district on June 6, said lawyers aware of the development. The charge sheet was filed in the Barrackpore court.
CBI also arrested a man in connection with the murder of a BJP worker’s mother in Jagaddal area of North 24 Parganas district. The victim, Shovarani Mondal, 64, was hit on the head by a stick, allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers who came looking for her son on May 3, a day after the assembly polls results were announced.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta high court on Friday said a parallel probe into offences other than murder and rape will be supervised by former chief justice of the high courts of Calcutta and Bombay, Justice (retired) Manjula Chellur.
On July 19, the court ordered a CBI probe into alleged murders and rapes and a parallel probe by a special investigation team (SIT) comprising Indian Police Service (IPS) officers posted in Bengal. On Thursday, the state government named 10 officers for the SIT.
CBI’s second charge sheet came within 24 hours of the first one filed at Rampurhat court in Birbhum district.
{{/usCountry}}CBI’s second charge sheet came within 24 hours of the first one filed at Rampurhat court in Birbhum district.
{{/usCountry}}The victim at Bhatpara, Jaiprakash Yadav, died in a bomb attack by motorcycle-borne assailants. One of the four CBI teams touring the state visited Yadav’s home thrice since August 26 and recorded statements of his family members and neighbours.
On August 27, CBI officers asked Yadav’s family to identify the victim’s blood-soaked clothes that were kept in the custody of Bhatpara police station. “This was done because Yadav’s face was mutilated beyond recognition. The bomb hit him on the head,” a CBI officer stationed in Kolkata said on condition of anonymity.
Arjun Singh, BJP Lok Sabha member from Barrackpore seat, has alleged that Yadav was murdered because he worked hard to ensure the victory of Singh’s son, Pawan, from Bhatpara assembly seat in the recent polls.
A CBI team on Friday talked to the family of BJP worker Debabrata Maity, who was attacked, allegedly by TMC workers on May 3, at Nandigram in East Midnapore district. He died at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on May 13. CBI lodged a case in this connection on August 31.
The TMC on Friday commented for the first time on the ongoing probe, calling it “politically driven”.
“The Calcutta high court ordered the probe on the basis of a report given by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The report was politically biased. The CBI is only meeting families of BJP workers. It is not probing the deaths of the 13 TMC workers killed in violence,” said Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, TMC Rajya Sabha member.
“The CBI and Enforcement Directorate are being used to target TMC leaders and ministers. They have not only targeted TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee but his wife as well,” said Roy, referring to the summons sent by ED to the chief minister’s nephew and his wife in the coal smuggling case.
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, however, countered Roy. “What was the state police doing all these months? Why were charge sheets not filed and arrests not made? The TMC leadership is rattled because the CBI is acting tough and fast,” Ghosh said.
On June 21, a five-judge bench of acting chief justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar dismissed the state’s petition seeking recall of its June 18 order that asked the NHRC to probe the allegations of violence. Dismissing the plea for recall, Justice Bindal observed that the conduct of the state did not inspire confidence of the court.
In its report, the NHRC panel slammed the state government saying the violence “shows a pernicious politico-bureaucratic-criminal nexus”. It recommended a CBI probe and said trials should be conducted outside Bengal.
The NHRC report said at least 1,934 police complaints were lodged between May 2 and June 20. These included 29 murder charges, 12 complaints relating to rape and sexual assault and 940 complaints of loot and arson. The report said that out of the 9,304 people named as accused, less than 3% are currently in jail.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed the NHRC report, calling it distorted.
The high court on July 19 ordered a CBI probe into all allegations of post-poll murder and rape and asked the agency to file its report in six weeks.
CBI has so far registered more than 30 cases in the districts and one murder case in Kolkata. The agency has formed four teams for the probe, with each team comprising deputy inspector generals and superintendents from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and other states. Every team is headed by a joint director. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is providing security for the officers.