Calcutta HC orders CBI probe into TMC leader Tapan Dutta’s murder in 2011 – Hindustan Times

The Calcutta high court on Thursday told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the prosecution in the murder of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Tapan Dutta, in which his party colleagues were also alleged to be involved but were cleared of the charges.

“This court’s mind is not free from doubt that the murder in question might have been the result of a rivalry and a conspiracy. The victim may have been obstructing huge monetary and/or political gain that some persons were after. Such persons are politically powerful and well connected. A fair and effective investigation may indeed open a can of worms, or expose any likely role of influential persons,” justice Rajasekhar Mantha said in his 56-page verdict on a petition by Dutta’s wife Pratima.

The judge left it to CBI to decide if it should probe the case. “The CBI may, in its discretion, conduct further investigation, as it deems necessary,” the judge said, accepting a demand that Pratima Dutta first made in 2012.

The court asked CBI to complete the trial in six months.

Tapan Dutta, 48, was the vice-president of the TMC unit at Howrah’s Jagachha, and campaigned against the filling up of wetlands by real estate promoters. He was shot dead from close range by two men at the railway tracks in the Shanti Nagar area of Howrah on May 6, 2011, days before TMC chief Mamata Banerjee won the assembly polls, ending the Left Front’s 34-year regime.

On November 15, 2012, Dutta’s nephew Pintu Dhar was hacked with sharp weapons along the same railway track on which Dutta was killed. Pintu survived the attack when some passersby rushed him to the hospital.

Pratima Dutta and her daughter Priyanka were given police protection on the orders of the high court as they were facing constant threats from the suspects.

She had named several suspects, including a number of Howrah TMC leaders for her husband’s death. Among them was legislator Arup Roy who became a minister in Banerjee’s first cabinet and currently holds charge as Bengal’s cooperation minister.

The criminal investigation department, which was entrusted with the investigation, filed its first charge sheet at a Howrah court on August 30, 2011, naming 13 people, including Arup Roy. His name, however, dropped when a supplementary charge sheet was filed on September 26, 2011. The names of seven other people were also left out.

On December 6, 2014, the Howrah court let off five more accused as the CID cited insufficient evidence against them. Among those let off was the then TMC district secretary Asish Gayen, who was expelled by the party, his brother Sashthi Gayen and Ramesh Mahato, all of whom were arrested after the murder.

On April 7, 2017, a high court division bench of Debashis Kar Gupta and Justice Mohammed Mumtaz Khan quashed the acquittal order of the Howrah court and ordered a fresh trial.

When the suspects moved the Supreme Court, challenging the high court order, the apex court referred the matter back to the high court asking it to complete the hearing.

The high court said it could not rule out that there was “pressure on the state police and the investigation agencies to shield certain persons and their nefarious actions”.

“Change of the investigating and prosecuting agency in the instant case is also necessary to instil faith in the family of the victim and the public at large,” the order said.

Eminent lawyer and Rajya Sabha member Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya who represented Tapan Dutta’s family at the high court and Supreme Court said: “The probe was influenced from the very beginning. The family had to fight a long battle. The suspects planned to murder the complainants.”

Pratima Dutta said she was willing to wait for CBI to probe her husband’s death. “The CBI may take another four or five years to complete the investigation. I will wait. I have full faith in CBI. I will not rest till justice is delivered,” she added.

The TMC leader’s wife said: “I have lived like a prisoner in my house all these years. The police asked me to lock all doors and windows while the killers, who were released on bail, moved around freely. This is a matter of shame. Today’s judgement has made me happy. I have been able to put a tight slap on the face of the state administration.”

Her daughter Priyanka recalled how influential TMC leaders alleged to be involved in her father’s murder used to abuse her mother when she went to court for the hearings.

Minister Arup Roy could not be contacted despite several attempts but TMC leaders and ministers defended the party.

“No TMC leader was involved in the murder. We can understand the agony the victim’s family is going through. They may name some people as suspects. The state government will decide how to deal with the court order,” said TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.

Cabinet minister Firhad Hakim said: “I cannot comment on the judgment but orders like these cause problems for the administration. The CID carried out an investigation and filed its report. Now it becomes a problem for the CID.”

Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “The family ran from door to door seeking justice while the investigation was tampered with. It is now proven that the judiciary has no faith in the state administration.”

Lawyer Sabyasachi Chatterjee, who represented Pratima Dutta, said the trial, which is going on at a lower court in Howrah district, will be shifted to a CBI court.