WB govt in SC: State machinery not after people with different ideology

New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS) The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that the state machinery is not going after people having a different political ideology.

The response from the state government came in an affidavit ahead of the Assembly elections, scheduled for early this year, in a case where advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha has sought a CBI/NIA probe into the mysterious death of a BJP MLA Debendra Nath Roy. On July 13, last year, Roy was found hanging from a tree. The incident had happened in the Raiganj police station area.

The affidavit by Atreyi Sen, Deputy SP CID Malda Zone, maintained that Roy had committed suicide. "It is denied that the death of Roy was a political murder or that the state machinery was used or was an accomplice or involved in any manner causing such death", said the affidavit.

The state government denied that there was involvement of the state machinery against people having a different political ideology or that it has made it impossible to trust the investigation carried out by the police officials of the same administration as falsely alleged.

The response from the state government assumes significance in the backdrop of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks, during a recent visit to the state, alleging that more than 300 BJP workers have been killed in the state.

Citing Roy's death, the government denied that this incident has put fear in millions of people who wish to join a political party. The government submitted that the investigating officer in the case had seized a paper from Roy's shirt pocket, which contained a handwritten note with names and details of two persons: Niloy Sinha and Mahmud Ali. "It is submitted that the petitioners have relied on tweets by high-ranking public officials to wrongly assume that the incident was pre-planned or that the state machinery was involved or that it was a political murder", said the government.

In the affidavit, the government stressed that allegations and speculations that Roy was first killed and then hanged is false, and also allegations of foul play in the investigation.

Seeking dismissal of Jha's petition, the government said the petitioner has demanded a CBI/ NIA investigation by relying on unverified statements purportedly given by Chandima Roy, wife of the deceased, and his relatives Khitish Chandra Ray and Poppy Barman. "These statements do not allege foul play by any state personnel or the police and do not impugn the state police in any manner", added the affidavit.

The top court on Tuesday granted two weeks to Jha and others to bring on record their response to the West Bengal government's affidavit. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing in February.