SC orders SIT probe into torture of two women in police custody in West Bengal

New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the formation of a fresh Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged torture of two women BJP activists in police custody in West Bengal.

These two women activists were arrested by state police after a complaint was lodged against them accusing them of making derogatory comments concerning the daughter of Trinamool Congress General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed the appeal moved by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

In October, the Calcutta HC directed the CBI to probe the allegation after these two women approached the single-judge Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj accusing police of excesses, including physical assault while they were in custody.

Besides directing the CBI probe in the matter, Justice Bharadwaj had also observed that such actions on the part of the state police were simply unacceptable.

Later, a division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hirnmay Bhattacharya upheld the order passed by the single-judge bench.

The division bench observed that from the medical report, it was clear that there had been a physical assault on the two women and hence that report cannot be ignored.

A video went viral where these two women were allegedly heard making derogatory remarks against Abhishek Banerjee’s minor daughter from a rally organised to protest against the rape and murder of a woman junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.

Based on that video, a third woman filed a complaint at Diamond Harbour Police Station. Acting on that complaint, the police arrested the two women activists.

In its order, the Supreme Court said the investigation of the torture allegations will not be transferred to the CBI but to a SIT constituted by the state government comprising three senior IPS officials, who otherwise belong to states other than West Bengal but are serving in the West Bengal cadre.

The SIT, headed by DIG, Presidency Range, Akash Magharia, will take over the investigation and submit a weekly report regarding the progress to a bench of the Calcutta High Court to be constituted by the Chief Justice.

The apex court granted liberty to the two women activists to approach the SIT, also comprising SP Howrah Swati Bhangalia and Howrah’s DC Traffic Sujata Kumari Veenapani, for the protection of their life and liberty.

--IANS

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