Bengal Files a Petition with the Supreme Court Against the CBI Probe Into Post-Poll Violence
According to the Bengal government, the CBI is working at the request of the Centre.
The Bengal government has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a Calcutta High Court order for a CBI investigation into post-election violence, claiming that the agency will not conduct a fair investigation. “The Central Bureau of Investigation is working at the behest of the Centre; do not expect a fair investigation,” said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government, which has been at odds with the agency for several years.
According to Bengal, the CBI is busy registering cases against Trinamool Congress office-bearers.
Ms Banerjee, one of the BJP’s and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s harshest critics, had previously described the agency as a government tool used to punish political opponents.
On August 19, the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI investigation into “heinous crimes of murder and rape” committed in the state following the assembly elections, in which Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress won a landslide victory over the BJP’s massive election machine.
Following the results of the assembly election, the judges said a Special Investigation Team should look into the other allegations of violence.
The court accused the state police of bias in favour of the ruling party, alleging that they either failed to file First Information Reports in cases of serious crimes or only registered FIRs for minor offences in cases of serious crimes.
The agency has already established four Special Investigation Units, each of which is led by a Joint Director. According to NDTV, a total of 25 officers will be on the job.
The issue of post-police violence had previously reached the Supreme Court, with several victims’ families requesting a CBI investigation. In its response, the state claimed that the petitions were “politically motivated” and requested that they be dismissed. According to the state, any act of violence following an election cannot be labelled as post-election violence.
Following the elections, violence in the state became yet another flashpoint between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP. The BJP claimed that Trinamool goons had killed BJP workers, assaulted women members, and targeted party members’ shops and homes.
