SC notice to Bengal over post-poll clashes

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the West Bengal government and the state police on the post-election violence that purportedly resulted in the mass exodus of women and children.

The order came on a plea by a Delhi-based social worker Arun Mukherjee and four others, who demanded an independent probe into the violence and what they said was a cover-up by police, as well as compensation and rehabilitation for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced due to the violence.

This is the second petition to be entertained by the SC in connection with the violence in the state. On May 18, the SC issued notice on a petition filed by the kin of two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on May 2. The family of the two deceased, Avijit Sarkar and Haran Adhikari, demanded an independent probe into the killings by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) as they alleged that the murders were carried out by members of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). In all, the plea claimed that nearly 16 BJP workers were killed during the violence.

Both petitions were heard separately by a Vacation Bench of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai. The court directed both the matters to be heard together in the week commencing June 7.

Responding to the demand for CBI probe, the Bengal government told SC that the FIR in both incidents was registered and three people were arrested. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Bengal, told the Court that a five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court was considering all issues raised in the petition.

The bench directed the state to file an affidavit in two weeks stating all the facts.