PIL in Calcutta HC demanding judicial probe into Lalan Sheikh’s death

Kolkata:  A public interest litigation was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday morning demanding a judicial probe into the mysterious death of Lalan Sheikh, the prime accused in the Bogtui carnage case, in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody.

In the petition filed at the division bench of the Calcutta High Court’s Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj, the petitioner Badrul Karim, an advocate by profession, has appealed for a probe into the matter by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court.

The division bench has admitted the petition and hearing in the matter might take place any day during the ongoing week.

Meanwhile, CBI itself has started an internal inquiry in the matter to find out the circumstances under which Sheikh died in its custody. Sources said that a detailed report has been sent to the agency’s headquarter in New Delhi.

There is possibility that a separate team of CBI officers under the leadership of a senior officer of the agency might conduct this internal inquiry. In this matter, the officers in charge of CBI’s Rampurhat camp in Birbhum district, where the mishap took place might be questioned to identify the probable security lapses that lead to the development. The personnel of the central armed forces manning the said camp might also be questioned on this count.

It is learnt that the agency’s headquarters has already sought a list of the CBI and central armed forces personnel present at the Rampurhat camp office.

Meanwhile, a group of villagers of Bogtui village, where the carnage took place during the wee hours of March 21 this year, lead by Lala Sheikh’s niece Bulti Khatun, blocked the nearby national highway this morning demanding immediate action against the CBI officers posted in the Rampurhat camp.

They also demanded immediate bail for the others in CBI custody now and expressed apprehension that they might also face similar fate like Lalan Sheikh.

The blockage continued for about an hour and was withdrawn following the interference of the local police.

–IANS

Comments are closed.