With CBI in, Congress hopes for justice in Bengal custody death

Kolkata, May 13 (IANS) Welcoming the Calcutta High Court's verdict ordering a CBI probe into the custodial death of a Trinamool Congress worker in West Bengal, the Congress Monday hoped for punishment of the guilty policemen.

"We hope that the names of those who are involved will come out and the guilty will be punished so that it is not repeated in future," state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya told media persons here.

A bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice J.M. Bagchi Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the custodial death of Kazi Naseeruddin in Dhaniakhali police station in Hooghly district Jan 19, after he was arrested the previous night.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation carried on by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state police, the court directed it to hand over the investigation to the CBI within seven days.

The verdict came on a public interest litigation which was filed seeking a probe by the CBI alleging that Naseeruddin's death was a "pre-planned" political murder.

Immediately after Naseeruddin's death, the Congress had alleged that the Trinamool worker was killed because he was "disenchanted withhis own party and wanted to switch to the Congress".

The Trinamool, however, had rubbished the claims asserting that Naseeruddin's death was due to natural causes. Local Trinamool legislator Ashima Patra had given a clean chit to the police saying the "death was due to natural causes".

Meanwhile, Naseeruddin's wife Manoja Bibi who had filed complaint against the police accusing them of murdering her husband, said her family was being threatened by Trinamool workers led by Patra.

"Patra and her party workers have not only been threatening my family, but have attacked people of the village who tried to support me in my fight. Even my children are not being allowed to go to school," said Manoja.

Bhattacharya too claimed that Manoja had been pressurised by the police to withdraw her complaint.

We the people of Bengal are to be pitied not derided by the rest of India.

First it was the CPM and now it is the TMC.

If you just replace the word TNC with the letter CPM in the above report it will look like a report of the pre-Mamta days.

We are fed-up with both parties.

Can't God bless us by providing a spell of President's Rule in Bengal for just 5-years.

Then the people could be asked in the next elections whether they want CPM. TMC or President's rule in Bengal