Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the state to file on Wednesday a ground report on the situation in Murshidabad's Beldanga, following clashes on Nov 16.
A division bench of justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya observed that the safety and security of residents was of prime concern and directed police to ensure there was no violence in the area. The bench also told cops to ensure that the persons who went missing returned to their homes. HC directed the state to provide all necessary medical assistance to the injured currently in hospital.
The division bench took note of a video clip of a person submitted to it and instructed the state to disclose his identity in its report so that appropriate steps could be taken against him. The court directed petitioner-advocate and BJP neta Kaustav Bagchi to share the audio and video clips played in court with the advocate general by 8pm on Tuesday.
The directions followed a PIL by Bagchi praying for immediate deployment of CAPF to the disturbed areas, arguing that the state police failed to restore law and order and remained silent on the culprits who masterminded the "communal violence". Bagchi pointed out that the president and the secretary of the Kartik Puja committee were among the 17 arrested. He also requested a court-monitored NIA probe to determine whether any terrorist outfit was involved.
Advocate general Kishore Datta refused to label the clashes a "communal riot". "Evidence at hand shows there was no communal violence in the area. Yes, there was some disturbance, and the police took prompt action," he said.
Datta questioned how much a court of law could intervene based on some videos and cellphone messages, and also urged the court to verify the authenticity of the clips.
The AG submitted that more than 400 police officers, including Rapid Action Force, were in the area and 17 people were arrested soon after cases were registered. Datta added that ADG (South Bengal) and Bidhannagar Police Commissioner were camping in the area and there had been no fresh outbreak of violence.
The division bench will hear the matter again on Wednesday.