The Calcutta High Court has directed the state Criminal Investigation Department to place before it a report on the progress of investigation into the firing by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at Sitalkuchi, which resulted in the death of four persons during the fourth phase of West Bengal Assembly elections.
This order was given yesterday by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Thottathil Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee on two separate PILs, seeking a judicial probe into the matter.
The petition said that the PILs were instituted, touching upon incidents, which have resulted in the death of four persons. The allegation is that it was the result of Police firing in the course of electioneering.
Advocate General for the State and Additional Solicitor General for the CISF as well as counsel for the Election Commission of India submitted before the Court that two FIRs have been lodged one at the instance of an officer of the CISF and another at the instance of an individual.
“Now investigation is being carried on by the CID of the State of West Bengal. We record these submissions. We expect a statement to be placed on record by the CID as to the progress of the investigation by the next date of hearing”, the Court ordered.
The office of Advocate General will instruct the investigator concerned in this regard since we do not see any CID or any particular officer of CID in the array of respondents, the Court said.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the Petition on May 5, 2021.
The violence had resulted in the Election Commission deferring voting at that polling station. The investigations are on the basis of two FIRs lodged, one by a CISF officer and another by a citizen.