Calcutta HC directs CBI probe into murder of TMC Deputy Pradhan Bhadu Sheikh. The violence in Bogtui village in Birbhum on March 21 where nine people lost their lives in retaliation. A Division Bench Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj said that both incidents (murder and retaliatory violence) are inter-linked. On March 25, The Court had directed a CBI probe into the violence at the village.
The court said both cases took about two hours to fill a gap. The record on the material placed prima facie suggests a close relationship and two relationships between linkages. The results are alleged to be a result of political rivalry. The applicants of the allegation are part of a common conspiracy and continuous cause of action that cannot be ignored, the court added.
“It is not worth it if one agency investigates both cases and then only if it is easier to find the truth, but it is also the same competent court before the trial,” the court said.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation (CBI) today said that the Bogtui village at the burning and killing of the brutal incident is the direct fallout of the killing of Bhadu Sk, son of Marfat Sk of Bogtui village at 8:30 p.m. the same day. It also suggests that the death of eight members of a group of two members of the village and the burning of a group of members among the rivalry of the incident was a retaliatory plan, the court said.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 25. A section of the petitioners prayed before the court that the CBI should also investigate the murder of deputy gram pradhan and Bhadu Sheikh. It was Bhadu Sheikh’s murder on March 21 that led to retaliatory violence in the village and several houses set on fire.
During the day, the CBI arrested four men in connection with the Bogtui violence in Mumbai. Among those arrested are the FIR and the Fired to Mumbai after the violence. The Transit remand on Birbhum.
The West Bengal government challenged the CBI probe into the murder of Jhalda Municipality Congress councillor Tapan Kandu on March 13. The state government approached the Division Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and urged that the matter be heard at the earliest.
On April 4, a bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha directed the CBI to probe the matter. “… There is a need for instilling faith in the public at large. The Rule of Law is still the most prevalent, given the gravity and politically sensitive nature of the crime. Justice must be seen to be done, ”Justice Mantha had.
