Law Of Ruler Instead Of Rule Of Law: NHRC Signals Police Complicity & State Apathy, Recommends CBI Investigation In West Bengal Post Poll Violence

According to the directions of a five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) constituted a committee for examining complaints filed by persons displaced during post-poll violence in West Bengal. Justice Arun Mishra, the Chairperson of NHRC, constituted a six-member team headed by Ravi Jain to examine all cases of post-poll violence received by NHRC and the WB State Legal Services Authority. The Committee was also to visit the affected areas and submit a report to the Calcutta High CourtOn July 13, 2021, the NHRC submitted a 50-page report to the Calcutta High Court detailing modalities followed, nature of the enquiry, number and nature of complaints, findings of the spot visits and camp-sittings.The report by the NHRC categorically at the very outset places the responsibility of the post-poll violence that gripped West Bengal on the State Government, terming it to be 'retributive violence by supporters of the ruling party against supporters of the main opposition party. In its 16 day investigation in the various districts of West Bengal, it examined the complaints or incidents related to post-poll violence in the State of West Bengal and visited the affected areas and interacted with the victims and other aggrieved petitioners/complainants. Apart from the earlier constituted 6-member team, an operational team consisted of DG (Investigation), one SSP, two Assistant Registrar (Law), 09 DSPs, 13 Inspectors, ten constables, 2 JRCs and other secretarial staff conducted field visits in different areas of the State. The team conducted 311 spot visits in the given duration of their stay.Major Findings: Complaints Received: The NHRC examined a total of 1979 complaints regarding post-poll violence covering 15,000 affected victims received at NHRC (1650), WBSLSA (315), WBSHRC (18), NCW (57) and local sources. The Commission has analyzed the complaints district-wise and noted, "It shows that very large number of complaints have been received from districts Cooch Behar, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Kolkata while within the administrative districts the most affected Police districts are Baruipur PD, Bashirhat PD, Barrackpore PC and Diamond Harbour PD."Data Sought from Chief Secretary & DGP, West Bengal: The Commission also sought extensive five-point details from the Chief Secretary & DGP, WB, including crime-wise district-wise nature of complaints, DD entries, MLCs of injured, preventive detention action, details of losses/property damaged, orders under 144 CrPC, amongst other details(page 10). However, after several reminders, the report mentions that the Government of West Bengal responded in a 'piecemeal' manner. It notes,"Still, the information sent is not complete, and many vital columns have been left blank. The information with regard to point B is not received from the Chief Secretary of West Bengal to date despite sending three reminders."An analysis by the NHRC of the data received from the State of West Bengal shows that a total number of 1934 complaints were lodged in various police stations of West Bengal, of which 1168 translated into FIRs naming 9304 accused. However, it goes ahead to show that only 1345 accused have been arrested so far, of which 1086 have been enlarged on bail, while the rest remain in custody. The maximum number of cases of arson, vandalism, loot, damage to public or private property (940) followed by threats or criminal intimidation (562), grievous hurt or incapacitation (391), murder/homicide (29) and attempt to rape or sexual assault and molestation (12).It emphasizes the contrasting difference between the large-scale violence in the State and the 'abysmally low' cases officially registered by Police, the number of arrests made. It further observed that the cases are not being investigated on priority and, in many cases, sections invoked are not proportional to the gravity of offences that occurred. It notes,"The statement given in the above table reflects that, out of 9,304 accused cited in the FIRs, only 1,354 (14 %) have been arrested and, out of these arrested, 11086 (80%) are already on bail. Thus, overall speaking, less than 3% of the accused are in jail, while 97 % are out in the open, making a mockery of the whole system."The report signals police complicity, stating that they are acting in a biased manner under the influence. It also remarks that the State Police does not dare to take action against looming goons belonging to the ruling dispensation. It states, "The I/Cs of Police Stations have not even visited the places of many of the violent incidents, nor collected any evidence or recorded statements, let alone registering FIRs." Spot Visits: Seven operational teams of NHRC conducted 311 spot-enquiries, prioritizing districts based on the gravity of the offence, intensity of cases, complaints of police collaboration, etc."The percentage of accused arrested out of those cited and ...

Law Of Ruler Instead Of Rule Of Law: NHRC Signals Police Complicity & State Apathy, Recommends CBI Investigation In West Bengal Post Poll Violence

Shrutika Pandey

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