The Calcutta High Court on Friday, transferred the probe into the murder of Bhadu Sheikh of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) of to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The decision was taken by the Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj to consider the issue of the Birbhum Violence in West Bengal where 8 persons were killed allegedly in retaliation to the said murder.
The Bench views that , if the case is taken by CBI , it would ensure that the person responsible is punished properly and incident is monitored correctly, while appropriate action been taken.
“It is also worth noting if one agency investigates both the incidents then not only it will be easier to unearth the truth, but it will also facilitate trial before the same competent court,” it was recorded.
The plea that was submitted to the court says that for a complete investigation of the matter and unearthing the truth, CBI is the best option as both incidents were inter linked
The plea was contested by the Advocate General (AG) SN Mookherjee who claimed that there has been no plea where the investigation in Sheikh murder case is requested to be transferred to CBI, also that there an has been no allegation on the current investigation being carried out improperly.
The Court however believes that the incident of setting 10 houses on fire was not an isolated, independent incident, but in fact, a counter-blast to the murder of Sheikh which took place within a frame of 2 hours as if rightly planned .
“Material placed on record prima facie suggests close relationship and linkage between the two incidents,” the Court observed.
Therefore, the prayer to transfer the case to the CBI was allowed and the State Police was directed to immediately hand over the investigation with all records of investigation and those arrested to the CBI.
“The CBI is directed to investigate the murder case of Bhadu Sk along with the investigation in the case of Bogtui house burning and murder case,” held the High Court.
The Bench checked the progress record of CBI in relation to the Court’s previous order in the violence in Birbhum. The report was produced in a sealed cover which was opened, perused and taken on record.
The Court also did record prima facie report that suggested Bogtui village was a direct fallout of the killing of Bhadu Sheikh.The reports also show a sign that it was the outcome of a rivalry amongst the members of two groups in the village and that the burning of houses was a retaliatory plan.
The CBI was further directed to file reports on both probes by May 2, the next date of hearing.