NHRC demands CBI probe into West Bengal violence

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of “maligning the people of the state” and for leaking its report on the post-poll violence –– a report which was meant to be submitted only to the Calcutta High Court.

In its report, the NHRC panel that had visited Bengal recently, recommended a CBI probe into “grievous offences like murder and rape” which allegedly took place during the post-poll violence after the TMC swept to power on May 2, and said the trials should be held outside the state. It has asked for the witnesses to be protected and the victims to be compensated.

The panel, in its report, said it had received 1,979 complaints, of which the maximum were from Cooch Behar in North Bengal, followed by Birbhum, North 24 Parganas and Kolkata and said the incidents had disrupted the lives of 15,000 persons across the state.

The panel had also alleged that while the state police had registered only 123 cases, over 3,057 more people had told them that their cases had not been filed by police, accusing the police and bureaucracy of not protecting the people. The observations were part of a report submitted by the panel to the Calcutta High Court on July 13. The seven-member panel had submitted five sets of reports in separate sealed covers to the court.

The NHRC meanwhile issued a statement refuting allegations that it had leaked the report.

The report also accused the Mamata Banerjee government of being apathetic to the people, and said there was still “palpable fear among the victims of violence and many haven’t come back to resume normal lives and work”. Calling the violence pre-planned and retributive, it said the state was under the “law of the ruler and not rule of law”.

Reacted strongly to the report, TMC’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, accused the BJP of using bodies such as NHRC to “manufacture stories” about violence in the state. “The state government had everything under control within hours of taking charge. Meanwhile, the NHRC team meant only BJP workers. The members themselves are activists of the BJP. They did not even meet the families of labourers who were killed mercilessly by central forces in Cooch Behar on polling day.”

The CM said the report is a reflection of BJP’s political vendetta and a sign that the party is yet to accept its defeat in the Bengal assembly polls. She said the Centre was blind to the incidents of lawlessness in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.