Kolkata, May 5 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday submitted a preliminary report on the Beldanga riots. The report was submitted to the Division Bench of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen. The court will take its decision after examining the report.
The next hearing of the case will be held after two weeks. However, the Calcutta High Court has said that there is no obstacle to the NIA’s investigation into the Beldanga case.
Unrest erupted in Murshidabad district’s Beldanga on January 16 due to the mysterious death of a migrant worker in neighbouring Jharkhand. It was alleged that Alam Sheikh was murdered. A blockade was started by leaving his body on the road. Locals protested by blocking the National Highway and railway tracks for about 30 hours.
A day later, on January 17, the protesters indulged in violence in the name of the blockade. Railway property was vandalised and journalists were beaten up.
The NIA took over the investigation into the Beldanga incident on the orders of the court. About 15 arrested accused got bail from the NIA special court. The NIA filed an appeal in the Calcutta High Court challenging the bail granted by the NIA special court in Kolkata.
In addition, the advocate general of the state government and the lawyers of the accused who were granted bail claimed that the Supreme Court has ordered that the Calcutta High Court will decide whether the UAPA Section will be applicable in this case or not. Therefore, the Calcutta High Court will hear the two cases together after two weeks.
On Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General Ashok Chakraborty drew the attention of the court and said that there is no counsel to respond on behalf of the state at this time after the change of power yesterday. Therefore, the Division Bench of the Chief Justice said that the case will be heard again after two weeks.
After a decade-and-a-half, there has been another political change in the state. The BJP has come to power by bringing down the Trinamool Congress government. The party won 207 seats in the 294-seat strong West Bengal Assembly. Trinamool’s seats have come down to 80 from the 215 it won in 2021.
The BJP is yet to form a new government after ending the 15-year-long Trinamool government. This morning, the BJP’s legal cell has sought three weeks’ time to decide who will be the new state advocate general, so that during that time the High Court does not give any orders in all the cases in which the state is a party.
–IANS
sch/rad
