Bengal post-poll clashes: HC orders CBI, SIT probe
Kolkata, Aug. 19: Observing that there are “definite and proved” allegations that complaints of the victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly polls were not even registered, the Calcutta high court on Thursday ordered a CBI investigation in all alleged cases of heinous crimes like rape and murder, accepting the recommendations of an NHRC committee.
A five-judge bench, passing unanimous judgment on a batch of PILs seeking an independent probe into the incidents of alleged violence after the polls which the ruling TMC won by an overwhelming majority, also ordered the setting up of an SIT to probe all other cases.
The SIT will include Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranveer Kumar, all IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre.
“All the cases where, as per the report of the committee, the allegations are about the murder of a person and crimes against women regarding rape/ attempt to rape, shall be referred to the CBI for investigation,” said the bench, which comprised Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices I.P. Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar.
It directed the NHRC committee, constituted by its chairman on a direction by the five-judge bench, and any other commission or authority and the state to immediately hand over the records of the cases to the CBI to carry forward the probe. The bench will monitor the investigations by both the CBI and the SIT and asked the two agencies to submit status reports to the court within six weeks.
It said the working of the SIT will be overseen by a retired judge of the Supreme Court for which a separate order will be passed after obtaining his/her consent.
In its ruling, 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 Central Bureau of Investigation”.
The bench said the state failed to register FIRs even in some cases of alleged murder. “This shows predetermined mind to take investigation into a particular direction.”
“Under such circumstances, investigation by independent agency will inspire confidence to all concerned,” it noted.
It said the allegations that the police hadn’t registered a number of cases initially and some were registered only after the court had intervened or the committee was constituted were found to be true.
It observed the facts in relation to the allegations made in the PILs are “even more glaring” as the incidents were not isolated to one place.
“Rather, the violence which erupted after the polls and the declaration of results was statewide. A number of persons had died. Women were raped. The houses of certain persons who had not supported the party in power were demolished. Their other properties were damaged. Their belongings were looted, including chattels,” the court said in its order.
The bench said there are allegations that complainants were being threatened to withdraw the cases and a number of cases of murder were claimed to be natural deaths without recording FIRs and conducting investigation according to the procedure established by law.
“There are definite and proved allegations that complaints filed by the victims of post-poll violence were not registered. Such types of incidents, even if isolated, are not good for a healthy democracy,” the bench said.
Noting that the West Bengal police had not properly responded to the allegations of inaction and tried to downplay them, the bench said: “It certainly needs investigation by an independent agency.”
It said three months have lapsed since the matter was taken up by the court, but “no concrete action has been taken by the state, which could inspire confidence, except filing affidavits and placing on record thousands of papers”.