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Updated October 3rd, 2021 at 09:01 IST

Bhabanipur bypoll: BJP urges HC to ensure post-election violence doesn't take place

A day ahead of the Bhabanipur by-election result, BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal urged the Calcutta HC Chief Justice to take measures to prevent post-poll violence.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Bhabanipur bypoll, Mamata
Image: Facebook/PTI | Image:self
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A day ahead of the Bhabanipur by-election result, BJP's candidate Priyanka Tibrewal urged the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice to take measures to prevent post-poll violence. In a letter addressed to Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal on October 2, she stated that people are still suffering from the aftermath of the purported crimes committed by TMC miscreants after the declaration of the West Bengal Assembly election results. She sought an order to the state government to ensure that no untoward incident takes place irrespective of the poll outcome.

The letter stated, "We have clearly witnessed an unprecedented massacre that took place all over Bengal post 2nd May, 2021 which has left the entire nation in shock and has given India – Land of Ahimsa, a bad image in the eyes of the world and we are still suffering the aftermath of those heinous crimes committed by the miscreants of Trinomool Congress Party. Hence taking that ghastly scenario into reference I as a candidate for this bye-election humbly request you give a strict order to all the government enforcement department to take extreme precautionary measures so that no innocent life is lost, no sexual crime is committed, no public is left homeless, no incident of arson is recorded and we live in a peaceful environment come what may be the outcome on the 3rd of October, 2021". Tibrewal, who unsuccessfully contested the West Bengal Assembly polls from Entally, is also a practicing advocate in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court.

She is up against WB CM Mamata Banerjee who accepted TMC turncoat Suvendu Adhikari's challenge to fight from Nandigram in the 2021 Assembly polls but lost by a narrow margin of fewer than 2000 votes. Soon after the election, WB Agriculture Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay resigned as the Bhabanipur MLA paving way for Banerjee to contest from there. A win in this election is crucial for the TMC supremo as she has to get elected as an MLA by November 4 to continue as the Chief Minister.

CPI's Srijib Biswas is also in the poll fray. On September 20, Bhabanipur witnessed an approximate turnout of over 57 percent while the voting percentage in Samserganj and Jangipur was 79.92 percent and 77.63 percent respectively. In the 2021 WB Assembly polls, TMC sprung a surprise by by bagging 213 seats whereas BJP could win in only 77 constituencies.

Post-poll violence in West Bengal

BJP, Congress, CPI(M), TMC and ISF were up in arms over the violence which claimed at least 16 lives after the declaration of poll results. Incidentally, one of the petitioners who moved the Calcutta HC over the post-poll violence in the state. At the outset, the 5-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen, and Subrata Talukdar directed the NHRC chairperson to form a committee to examine all complaints pertaining to the violence.

In its report submitted on July 12, the NHRC committee had opined that the situation in the state is a manifestation of the 'Law of Ruler' instead of 'Rule of Law'. Highlighting the "pernicious politico-bureaucratic-criminal nexus" in WB, it recommended that cases involving offences such as rape, murder, etc. should be probe by the CBI and tried outside the state whereas the other cases should be investigated by a court-monitored SIT. Ruling that TMC's allegations of bias against the NHRC panel don't hold merit, the Calcutta HC agreed to order a CBI probe in cases of murder and crimes against women on August 19.

It also entrusted all other cases referred by the NHRC to an SIT comprising IPS officers Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranbir Kumar. The 5-judge bench revealed that the working of this team will be monitored by former HC Chief Justice Manjula Chellur. Directing the state government to hand over all documents and records to the investigative agencies, it warned that any obstruction in the course of the probe will be taken very seriously. 

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Published October 3rd, 2021 at 07:53 IST

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