A five-member fact-finding team of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was compelled to visit Bagatui village near Rampurhat and submit a report on the killing of nine people there, has recommended sending an investigation team from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). National Commission for Women (NCW) and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to West Bengal.
On the night of March 21, nine people were burnt to death by unknown individuals in the village of Bagatui as a suspicious consequence of the assassination of a local leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Mamata Banerjee government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident, but the case is now with the CBI on the directions of the Calcutta High Court.
The BJP’s fact-finding team also recommended that the central government should intervene and direct all-India service officers like IPS and IAS to follow the rule of law.
The committee said in its report that local residents had lost confidence in the state police and the West Bengal government and had fled their homes. The report claims that “there is a feeling of insecurity among them.
The committee submitted its report to BJP national president JP Naddar on Wednesday.
The panel also questioned the involvement of local police and administration in the Birbhum killings. “Fire brigade vehicles were prevented from reaching the crime scene on time,” it complained.
The report further claims that there are links between police and politicians in the area for illegal extraction of stones, sand and coal.
The killings were sparked by a dispute over the distribution of “extortion money” among TMC cadres, the report alleged.
The BJP formed a five-member fact-finding committee on March 22 to inspect the affected areas, gather evidence and submit a report as soon as possible. The five members of the panel include Rajya Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brajlal, Lok Sabha MP and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and former IPS officer from Karnataka KC Rammurthy, and National Spokesperson and former West Bengal IPS Bharati Ghosh.
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