KOLKATA: Almost three decades after he was charged with brutally attacking Mamata Banerjee - then a Youth Congress leader - Lalu Alam, the key accused, was acquitted by a city court on Thursday. The sixth additional district and sessions judge, Alipore Court, Pushpal Satpathy acquitted Alam in absence of adequate evidence against him.
“We have submitted a petition with the court as the case had no future. More than 29 years have passed and the trial court is yet to reach any conclusive stage. Many of the witnesses including five eye witnesses have died. Some of the accused persons are absconding and rest have died. The judge had already closed cross-examination in the case on August 21,” said public prosecutor Radhakanta Mukherjee.
“The victim, CM Mamata Banerjee, agreed to depose through a video conference on August 21 this year, but the court did not have the infrastructure for that. Based on the evidence, the court on Thursday decided that it is inadequate to prove charges against him,” Mukherjee said. Under section 232 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the judge concluded that there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence and acquitted him of charges.
Alam, then a member of the CPIM’s youth wing DYFI, was charged with trying to hit Banerjee with a baton on August 17, 1990, when she led a rally to the Hazra and SP Mukherjee Road intersection. “Accused persons closed in on her and started beating Banerjee. A Suo Motu FIR was registered by the police and a case was started,” recounted Shyamadas Ganguli, who had handled the case as the special public prosecutor. Initially charges of attempt to murder and rioting while armed with a deadly weapon were slapped against the accused persons. Later additional charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt was framed against them. Alam was taken in custody for two and a half months.
While the trial started on November 2, 1992, it was adjourned after Banerjee “failed to appear”. In the next two years the trial was adjourned on several dates after the victim failed to appear before the sessions court. When she finally appeared on December 6, 1994, she was examined (examination-in-chief) by the prosecution. Alam filed a petition with the trial court to defer the cross examination of Banerjee until other witnesses and victims were cross examined.
While the trial judge rejected the prayer for deferring cross-examination of Banerjee, Alam moved the Calcutta high court demanding deposition of other witnesses. But the high court also rejected the petition after it found no merit in it and ordered that there was no need for its intervention.
“At least five witnesses including Dibyendu Biswas, Anil Mukherjee, Dilip Majumdar, Anup Chatterjee and Biswanath Bhattacharya have died. If the case is dragged further at this stage, corroboration of the victim’s statement will be required. It seems the case has no future now as the justice has been delayed,” Mukherjee said.
“We have submitted a petition with the court as the case had no future. More than 29 years have passed and the trial court is yet to reach any conclusive stage. Many of the witnesses including five eye witnesses have died. Some of the accused persons are absconding and rest have died. The judge had already closed cross-examination in the case on August 21,” said public prosecutor Radhakanta Mukherjee.
“The victim, CM Mamata Banerjee, agreed to depose through a video conference on August 21 this year, but the court did not have the infrastructure for that. Based on the evidence, the court on Thursday decided that it is inadequate to prove charges against him,” Mukherjee said. Under section 232 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the judge concluded that there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence and acquitted him of charges.
Alam, then a member of the CPIM’s youth wing DYFI, was charged with trying to hit Banerjee with a baton on August 17, 1990, when she led a rally to the Hazra and SP Mukherjee Road intersection. “Accused persons closed in on her and started beating Banerjee. A Suo Motu FIR was registered by the police and a case was started,” recounted Shyamadas Ganguli, who had handled the case as the special public prosecutor. Initially charges of attempt to murder and rioting while armed with a deadly weapon were slapped against the accused persons. Later additional charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt was framed against them. Alam was taken in custody for two and a half months.
While the trial started on November 2, 1992, it was adjourned after Banerjee “failed to appear”. In the next two years the trial was adjourned on several dates after the victim failed to appear before the sessions court. When she finally appeared on December 6, 1994, she was examined (examination-in-chief) by the prosecution. Alam filed a petition with the trial court to defer the cross examination of Banerjee until other witnesses and victims were cross examined.
While the trial judge rejected the prayer for deferring cross-examination of Banerjee, Alam moved the Calcutta high court demanding deposition of other witnesses. But the high court also rejected the petition after it found no merit in it and ordered that there was no need for its intervention.
“At least five witnesses including Dibyendu Biswas, Anil Mukherjee, Dilip Majumdar, Anup Chatterjee and Biswanath Bhattacharya have died. If the case is dragged further at this stage, corroboration of the victim’s statement will be required. It seems the case has no future now as the justice has been delayed,” Mukherjee said.
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