The Ananda Margis have appealed to the Bengal government to reopen a 29-year-old case in which 16 monks and a nun belonging to the sect were killed in broad daylight on a bridge in south Kolkata.
This is the only instance in which members of a religious organisation were murdered in large numbers.
“We have sent a letter to the chief minister, home department and police commissioner. We will launch an agitation and campaign for public support for our cause if the government turns a deaf ear,” said Krishneswarananda Avadhut, who looks after legal matters on behalf of the organisation, which sent two letters on this to the CM.The Ananda Marg is a spiritual and social service organisation founded in 1955 and has a global network. On the morning of April 30, 1982, a mob of 1,200-1,400 led by CPM activists attacked the unarmed saffron-clad monks and nuns. The mob beat them up and set them on fire.
Avadhut said two CPM activists — one of whom became a minister and the other is now aligned with the Trinamool — were named in a report of the former additional district magistrate of South 24 Parganas, but their names were neither in the FIR nor in the chargesheet.
{{/usCountry}}Avadhut said two CPM activists — one of whom became a minister and the other is now aligned with the Trinamool — were named in a report of the former additional district magistrate of South 24 Parganas, but their names were neither in the FIR nor in the chargesheet.
{{/usCountry}}The carnage went on for several hours but the police did not come though the nearest police station was less than a kilometre away, Avadhut alleged. “Those who were arrested and prosecuted were not culprits. They were innocent, and so we did not appear in the case for witness and they have all been acquitted,” said Avadhut.
The case can be reopened, lawyers said. “When some accused are absconding the case is alive and it can be restarted anytime,” said Subhomoy Samaddar, a public prosecutor of the Alipore police court.
Swapan Chakraborty, who was with the CPM and is now with Trinamool and often alleged to be involved in the carnage, said: “I know nothing of the incident. I don’t know how they are alleging my involvement.”
The government has set up inquiry committees to investigate the unnatural death of CPM MLA Mostafa Bin Quasem on May 29, 2011, and the Sainbari massacre on March 17, 1970. However, on this the government has maintained silence.