HC to monitor CBI probe nto post-poll violence

Observing that there definite and proved” allegathat complaints of the vicof violence in the afterof the West Bengal assempolls were not even tered, the Calcutta high t on Thursday ordered sepe probes by the Central au of Investigation (CBI) a Special Investigation m (SIT) of the state police the alleged post-poll vioe. five-judge bench, headed cting chief justice Rajesh al, said CBI will probe into erious allegations of rape murder while SIT that of n and loot under the court’s rvision. ordered the CBI and SIT to mit status reports to the t within six weeks. The er would be heard again on ber 24. e SIT will include Suman Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and veer Kumar, all Indian e Service (IPS) officers of West Bengal cadre. ll the cases where, as per eport of the Committee, the ations are about murder of rson and crime against en regarding rape/attempt pe, shall be referred to CBI nvestigation,” the bench, comprising justices IP erji, Harish Tandon, men Sen and Subrata Talukordered. directed the National an Rights Commission RC) committee, constituted s chairman on a direction

HC ORDER

CBI to monitor serious allegations of rape and murder

SIT will probe cases of arson and loot

Report to be submitted in 6 weeks; HC to monitor probes Working of SIT will be overseen by a retired SC judge

West Bengal govt to pay compensation to victims by the five-judge bench, and any other commission or authority and the state to immediately hand over the records of the cases to CBI to carry forward the probe.

In June, the court directed the NHRC to constitute a committee to examine all cases of alleged violence after the March-april assembly elections, which the ruling Trinamool Congres (TMC) won by an overwhelming majority. The seven-member committee submitted its final report on July 13 slamming the TMC government while recommending a CBI probe. The report also recommended that the trials in the cases of violence should be held

ON FILING FIRS

State govt failed to register FIRS even in some cases of murder. Allegations that police did not register cases initially, registered some only after court intervened found to be true Many cases of murder being claimed as natural deaths without probe

WB Police did not properly respond to allegations of inaction, tried to downplay them

ON HEINOUS CRIMES

The bench said heinous crimes such as murder and rape “deserve to be investigated by an independent agency which in the circumstances can only be CBI”.