Calcutta HC expresses doubts over role of investigating officer on mysterious death of 2 BJP workers

Kolkata, Sep 8 A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Monday, expressed doubts over the role of the investigating officer (IO) probing the case of the mysterious death of two BJP workers at Khejuri in East Midnapore district of West Bengal in July this year.

Earlier on September 3, the division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi directed the East Midnapore district police to submit to the court the call details of the 17 individuals named as accused in the case, as well as the call details of the medical officer, who had conducted the autopsy-related examinations in the case.

On that day, the division bench directed the East Midnapore district police to submit the call details, and suspicions surfaced over the differences in the contents of two post-mortem reports related to the same case.

On Monday, the East Midnapore district police submitted a report to the division bench on examining the call details of the medical officer attached to Tramluk Medical College and Hospital in the same district.

The report surprised the two judges of the division bench.

The division bench also questioned why the investigation officer in the case made multiple calls to the medical officer concerned both before and after the post-mortem of the bodies of the two BJP workers was conducted.

Raising a question on this issue, the division bench observed that the roles of the district police in the matter, especially the investigating officer in the case, were not beyond doubt.

The state government counsel argued that nothing suspicious surfaced from the multiple calls made to the medical officer concerned, the investigation officer in the case, both before and after the post-mortem of the bodies of the two BJP workers was conducted.

However, the division bench was not stratified by the submission made by the state government counsel. Mere verbal submissions in the matter would not be enough, and the state government should furnish substantiated documents in support of their claims to the court by the next date of hearing, the division bench observed.

The matter will come up for hearing again on September 15.

To recall, on July 12 this year, two BJP workers -- Sujit Das and Sujit Paik -- died while attending a public cultural function in the village at Khejuri, where they used to reside. Based on the first post-mortem report in the matter, the investigating police officers declared the death as “electrocution deaths".

However, the family members of the two deceased BJP workers claimed that they had been murdered, and they approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a second autopsy in the matter.

Following the orders of the Calcutta High Court, a second autopsy was conducted in the matter at state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata. In the second autopsy report, injury marks were found on the bodies of the two deceased BJP workers.

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