TMC protests CBI takeover of cases, blocks entry to Calcutta HC

Shubhadeep Choudhury
New Delhi, April 13

In an unprecedented move, Calcutta High Court lawyers affiliated to the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress today blocked the entry of people to Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s court to protest against the judge for recently handing over to the CBI four cases related to irregularities in appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in state government-aided schools.

Gangopadhyay is not the only judge in the High Court who has been entrusting important cases with a bearing on the state government to the CBI. Recently, three sensational murder cases, including the massacre of nine persons at Bogtui village near Rampurhat in Birbhum district last month and the recent gang-rape and murder of a minor in Hanskhali village in Nadia district, were been handed over to CBI by the High Court. A division Bench consisting of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bhadwaj gave the order directing the CBI to probe the cases.

On Tuesday, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI probe into the suicide of Niranjan Baishnab. Baishnab was an eyewitness to the murder of Congress councillor Tapan Kandu. Earlier, on April 4, Mantha had ordered a CBI investigation into the Kandu murder case.

“Under the Left Front rule, three CBI investigations were ordered by the High Court between 2006 and 2011. The court ordering five CBI investigations in a span of three weeks, as is the case now, is quite unprecedented,” a senior official said. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar today summoned Mamata for a meeting to discuss the issue of the lawyers protesting outside Gangopadhyay’s court. “You would agree that in a system governed by the Constitution and rule of law, the denial of access to justice and obstruction in the functioning of the courts sounds death knell for democracy,” Dhankhar said.

BJP’s all-woman team to probe Hanskhali rape

New Delhi: The BJP has constituted a five-member all-woman fact-finding committee to probe the recent rape and murder case of a minor girl in West Bengal’s Hanskhali. In a statement, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said, “National president JP Nadda has nominated a five-member fact-finding committee to visit the place of rape and murder of minor girl at Hanskhali, Nadia, West Bengal. The committee will submit its report at the earliest.” TNS

WB bypolls: 53% turn up to vote

Kolkata: As many as 53.82 per cent of the around 17.5 lakh voters exercised their franchise in byelections to Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and Ballygunge Assembly seat in West Bengal, an official said on Wednesday. TNS