The horrendous incident of 8 people being charred and dozens of houses burnt in Birbhum has shocked the nation. The law and order situation of West Bengal is being questioned. The media outlets are referring to West Bengal as a new Kashmir is in making. The opposition has come together to condemn the Rampurhat carnage in one voice, be it the largest opposition BJP or the Congress and Left Party CPI(M).
However, Mamata Government needs to gird its loins to face the repercussions as the Calcutta High Court’s order has transferred the investigation into the Bogtui killings to the CBI.
TMC under CBI Radar
As reported by news agency ANI, a forensic team of the CBI Friday reached Rampurhat to begin its investigation. Notably, the state government had set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the matter. But, the HC ordered on Friday to transfer the case to CBI and hand over papers and the accused arrested to the team. The court has directed the central agency to submit a preliminary report by April 7.
The division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj ruled, “We are of the opinion that facts and circumstances of the case demand that in the interest of justice and to instil confidence in the society and to have a fair investigation to dig out the truth, it is necessary to hand over the investigation to the CBI.”
“We find that the undisputed shocking incident of burning of at least eight persons, including a child and as many as six women, has shaken the conscience of the society. It has a nationwide ramification and all the national media reports are flooded with the news of this unfortunate incident,” the court added.
Reacting to the order, the ruling TMC said the state will cooperate with CBI but raised concerns over whether the BJP-ruled Centre would “use” the probe agency to “malign” its government. The Opposition BJP welcomed the order and accused the TMC of trying to “suppress the truth”. The CPI(M) sought a fair probe by the CBI.
The court also asked the West Bengal government “to extend full cooperation to CBI in carrying out the further investigation”. Though the ruling TMC suggested that the state will cooperate with CBI but it also raised concerns that the BJP-ruled Centre would “use” the probe agency to “malign” its government.
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On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Bogtui village. In an attempt to cover up the failure, she ‘offered’ monetary compensation.
Bengal’s journey from bad to worst
Ever since Mamata Banerjee was re-elected to power, things have gone from bad to worst in West Bengal. The concept of law and order seems to have turned into theory alone with no practical applications. The horrendous killings in Birbhum show that insurrection has taken control of the state.
Read more: The anarchy at Birbhum puts a question mark on West Bengal‘s Law and Order again
The situation of law and order is so distressing that even Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was forced to ask the President to intervene. Citing the complete breakdown of the constitutional machinery of the state, he has asked President to impose Article 355.
This is the Mamata Government for you. The High Court’s decision however has emerged as a ray of hope for the victims of Birbhum violence and they will get justice for sure.