The CBI has reached the residence of WB post-poll violence victim Avijit Sarkar to begin probe after the Calcutta HC order.
Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday began its investigation into the incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal. A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court had ordered a court-monitored probe in its verdict and setting up of SITs to look into the cases.
The CBI team has reached the residence of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Avijit Sarkar, who was killed in the post-poll violence in Bengal on May 2 this year. His brother Visvajit Sarkar will give his statement to the CBI.
Sarkar had earlier said that the Kolkata Police had refused to take his complain. The CBI will be submitting the status report to the Calcutta HC after completing the investigations.
The CBI has also set up four SITs to probe the case and incidents of murder and alleged rape. Four joint directors of the CBI will be heading the investigations.
The central agency has already written to the West Bengal DG asking for the case files and the details of the investigation so far.
The Calcutta HC in its verdict on August 19 had observed that the West Bengal government’s argument that the Election Commission was responsible for the violence as police were under it due to enforcement of election code till May 3, 2021 “deserves to be rejected outrightly”.
“Civil or police administration is under the control of the Election Commission during election process only to ensure free and fair elections. That does not mean that the police stop discharging its normal duties to control law and order.”
It had said that the state government was in denial mode about the violence that broke out in May after the elections concluded even though there was enough evidence to prove that post-poll violence had indeed taken place.
