Father of slain Tripura journlaist Santanu Bhowmik demanded a CBI probe into the death of his son. Mr. Sadhan Bhowmik stated that the ongoing police enquiry or forming a Special Investigation Team would be insufficient to solve the murder mystery and ensure exemplary punishment to the killers.
“Whatever was to happen has happened. But I want the killers to be punished,” Sadhan Bhowmik who resides at Khowai in west Tripura said.
“Let the probe be handed down to the CBI for impartial and faultless enquiry,” Mr. Bhowmik added.
Tripura government earlier constituted a five-member SIT to probe the murder of Santanu Bhowmik. The 28-year-old journalist was killed at Mandwai, 24 km east of Agartala, on September 20 while covering a protest following a clash between supporters of CPI(M) and IPFT (Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura). The IPFT is campaigning for a separate tribal State ‘Tipraland.’
Ruling CPI(M) blamed the IPFT for organising the murder, but the latter vehemently denied it and claimed Santanu could have been victim of a deep-rooted political conspiracy.
Nine media organisations of Tripura have been demanding CBI probe into the brutal murder which has been continuously rejected by the State government citing ‘competence of State police’ to solve murder mystery.
Significantly, the IPFT also voiced demand for a CBI probe into the murder. Hundreds of party supporters held a sit-in demonstration at Takarjala near Agartala on Tuesday to press their demand.