New Delhi:
Left red-faced and put on the defensive following the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) report on post-poll violence in West Bengal, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday declined to comment on the developments.
"The matter is still subjudice, I will not speak even a word....Political parties can do so. BJP has already given their biased opinion," Ms Banerjee told a press conference in Kolkata.
It is learnt that among other things, the NHRC report also said that "the violent incidents in West Bengal reflects appalling apathy of the state government towards the plight of victims".
Minutes after some of the content of the report submitted to the Calcutta High Court by the NHRC team,
BJP MP Arjun Singh said, "The BJP stands vindicated of what it has been stating earlier. There is no law and
order in the state of West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee".
Sources said the NHRC report on the post-poll violence that rendered scores of voters from West Bengal homeless
and were also killed had said among other things that the trial on the case should be shifted out of Kolkata
and that there could be a CBI probe as well.
It has also recommended an effective 'witness protection scheme' and also purposeful reforms for police
and in the state bureaucracy.
"The situation in West Bengal is a manifestation of law of the ruler instead of rule of law," the rights panel has reportedly
said.
There should be CBI probe into 'grievous offences like murder and rape', the NHRC panel has said.
Trinamool Congress MP, Saugata Roy, however, said he "does not accept" the NHRC report and that there
is no need to take the trial on the matter outside Kolkata.
The Mamata Banerjee-led dispensation was embarrassed on July 2 when the five-member bench
of the Calcutta High Court had said: "From a perusal of the report prima facie stand
taken by the petitioners is established that there had been post poll violence and the
state was found on a wrong foot, where throughout it was on a denial mode".
Earlier on June 18, the High Court had directed the State to ensure that there is "no obstruction"
of any kind in the investigation process (by NHRC team) and that any obstruction shall be
viewed seriously.
A team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked to probe post-poll violence in
West Bengal was attacked when it went to Jadavpur area, a known Trinamool Congress bastion, in Kolkata.
The team, led by NHRC member and National Commission For Minorities Vice Chairman Atif Rasheed, had gone to Jadavpur (29 June) to probe violence against BJP supporters and their houses had been looted and ransacked
The report notes “In view of the present situation described above, there is need to provide justice to victims and restore their confidence in the Criminal Justice System, which can be best rendered by a neutral agency. Hence, it is recommended that all heinous cases, including murder, Unnatural Deaths, rape and grievous hurt, and complaints carrying these allegations, should be transferred to the CBI for investigation.”
It has further added that “Trial of all the above cases investigated by the CBI should be held outside the state.”
The NHRC committee has recommended a court monitored SIT to look into some cases of post-poll violence in the state.
The report notes that police were complicit in traumatising the victims of the violence. It notes “with goons of the ruling party was alleged. by most of the victims. This was manifest in several ways: victims were implicated in false cases by the Police, or Police lodged counter cases against the victims by the accused, or the Police pre-dated such counter cases (in order to provide credibility to version of the accused against the real victim), the Police registered the counter - case in graver sections of law than the primary case, Police arrested the victim in the counter case but dragged its feet on taking action on the victim's case, or Police did nothing on the complaint of victims, or Police looked the other way even when a victim was being assaulted in their presence, or Police tried to counsel victims to seek a compromise with the accused, murder case was registered as an Unnatural Death case, etc.”
The committee has noted in its report that the violence was perpetrated by the “supporters of the ruling party”. It says “The spatio-temporal expanse of violent incidents in the state of West Bengal with little efforts of State machinery to prevent or control or rectify the same is actually a larger picture of organized violence by supporters of the ruling party in retribution against persons who dared to support the other major party which lost the recent Assembly elections in the State. While some organs or personnel of the State Government remained mute spectators, some others were apparently complicit.”
ends
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