HC tells CBI to probe Birbhum killings, asks Bengal to cooperate

The court also directed the West Bengal government “to extend full cooperation to CBI in carrying out the further investigation”. It ordered the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the state to stop its probe and hand over not only “the case papers but also the accused and suspects who were arrested in the matter and in custody” to the central agency.

“We are of the opinion that facts and circumstances of the case demand that in the interest of justice and to instil confidence in the society and to have fair investigation to dig out the truth, it is necessary to hand over the investigation to the CBI,” the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj stated in the order.

“We find that the undisputed shocking incident of burning of at least eight persons, including a child and as many as six women, has shaken the conscience of the society. It has a nationwide ramification and all the national media reports are flooded with the news of this unfortunate incident,” the court said.

West Bengal | Central Bureau of Investigation’s forensic team reaches Rampurhat.

Calcutta High Court today ordered CBI probe in the Birbhum violence case. pic.twitter.com/RW5q8PdpTD

— ANI (@ANI) March 25, 2022

In its order, the bench clarified: “We make it clear that any factual observation made in this order is only tentative for the purpose of deciding the issue of transfer of investigation to the CBI and will not be treated as binding in any other proceeding.”

Reacting to the order, the ruling TMC said the state will cooperate with CBI but raised concerns over whether the BJP-ruled Centre would “use” the probe agency to “malign” its government. The Opposition BJP welcomed the order and accused the TMC of trying to “supress the truth”. The CPI(M) sought a fair probe by the CBI.

On Monday night, eight people were charred to death and nearly a dozen houses set ablaze at Bogtui village in Birbhum’s Rampurhat block, allegedly in retaliation for the murder of local TMC leader Bhadu Sheikh. The SIT has so far arrested 23 people, including the TMC’s Rampurhat I block president Anarul Hossain, in the case.

On Wednesday, the High Court initiated a suo motu case on the incident and, a day later, reserved its order after hearing submissions from the petitioners and the state government.

Following the order on Friday, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said: “The court has given an order and we will abide by it. All cooperation will be extended to the CBI. The state government had taken enough action to probe the matter so far. Several arrests have also been made. It is for the CBI now to look into the case.”

The TMC leader, however, raised questions on the “credibility” of a CBI probe. “People rejected BJP in the West Bengal polls, so they are trying a different way to malign us by hatching a larger conspiracy. The BJP uses CBI and ED to suit their politics,” he said.

Advocate and BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal, who appeared as a petitioner in-person seeking a fair investigation, said: “The court has accepted the demand for an impartial probe. The court has felt that there is a need to provide justice.”

BJP MP from West Bengal and the party’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said: “Everyone demanded a CBI inquiry as they knew that (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee constituted the SIT to suppress the case. Innocent people have been murdered but she is not accepting her government’s failure.”

The state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said: “Only a CBI probe can bring out the truth as the police are acting as agents of the ruling party and trying to suppress the matter.”

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said: “We are hopeful that the CBI will carry out a fair probe. The state government had been trying to shield the culprits. We wanted a court-monitored CBI probe into the Birbhum incident and not just a CBI probe. But something is better than nothing.”