KOLKATA: Two public interest litigations were filed in the Calcutta high court on Monday seeking a judicial inquiry into the CISF firing incident in Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar, during the fourth phase of elections on Saturday. Four people were killed in the CISF firing.
One of the petitions sought that the CISF unit involved in the firing be removed from the election process and not deployed for the remaining four phases. The writs also called for providing adequate compensation to the families of the deceased.
Seeking the formation of an independent committee headed by a retired HC judge, the petitioners — an advocate at Calcutta high court and a school teacher — stressed the need to unravel the truth and identify the offenders.
While Trinamool Congress has said that the firing was unprovoked, unnecessary and indiscriminate, BJP has claimed that the forces were attacked and that the shooting was in self-defence.
The petitioners argued that while central and state forces are deployed for the smooth conduct of elections and to ensure safety and peace, the opposite seemed to have occurred at Sitalkuchi, and that the forces had not followed rules regarding the use of firearms.