Taking suo motu cognizance of Birbhum carnage that saw 10 people burnt to death in an alleged intra-party feud, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the State Government to produce the case diary/report in the case before it by 2 pm on Thursday, when the matter will be taken up for hearing again. The court also directed Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Delhi to immediately collect necessary materials for forensic examination at Bagtui village in Birbhum.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj said, “Let no evidence be destroyed. The district court and the State DGP will have to ensure the safety of every villager and witnesses. If any post-mortem is pending, it will have to be videographed.’’
The petitioners in the PILs have prayed for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or by any other agency which is not controlled by the state. The advocate general representing the government opposed the prayer, stating an SIT was probing the matter and there was no need to transfer the case to any other agency.
Declining a prayer for a Central Burau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter, the High Court division bench had on Wednesday directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to produce the case diary and other relevant documents before it by 2 p.m. on Thursday.
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict in connection with the violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district. This came a day after the Calcutta High Court took suo motu cognizance of the killing of eight people at Bogtui village.
