Probe Tehatta violence, WBHRC urged

Civil rights activists and some locals from Tehatta in the State’s Nadia district where one person died in police firing on November 14 urged the chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) Justice ( retd) Asok Kumar Ganguly here on Monday to send a fact-finding team to the area for an impartial inquiry into the incident.

“So far the inquiries announced by the State government are routine ones and we have serious doubts whether they will serve any purpose or just be an eye-wash. We have urged the WBHRC to intervene and initiate an inquiry to ascertain the facts in the incident,” said Ranajit Sur, secretariat member of Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), a civil rights organisation.

Though the State government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had virtually justified the police action.

Stating that an eight-member team of the APDR had visited the violence-affected area on November 15, Mr Sur said that the WBHRC asked the representatives to hand over the report compiled by the civil rights organisation to the Commission.

“We will submit our report to the WBHRC on Wednesday,” he said

There has been serious violation of human rights in the manner one person was killed in police firing and the continuing police atrocities on the locals, Mr Sur said.

Gautam Biswas, a resident of Tehatta area who accompanied the delegation to WBHRC said that police had attacked his house after the violence on November 14 and misbehaved with his family members.

“My house is located about 1.5 km from the area where the police firing occurred. But hours after the incident police raided my house and destroyed my motor bike and other belongings,” Mr Biswas said.

“I had come to the Commission as I have nowhere else to go. When the police is committing atrocities who else do you approach,” he said.

One person was killed in police firing on November 14, when violence broke out at Houlia More of Tehatta area over a land dispute between two communities. Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Tehatta who had fired three rounds on locals said that he was forced to do so in self-defence.