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HC orders CBI probe into Nandigram firing
Tribune News Service

Kolkata, March 15
The Calcutta High Court today suo motu ordered the CBI to conduct an inquiry into yesterday’s incident of police firing at Nandigram and furnish a detailed report to the court within seven days.

The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice, Surendra Singh Nijjar and Justice Pinaki Ranjan Ghosh, on a PIL filed by several lawyers today, found the firing “unjustifiable and unconstitutional”.

The court duly took cognisance of Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi’s official statement criticising the police action and accordingly, it directed the CBI to probe the unfortunate incident, which had taken so many innocent lives.

The newly appointed Chief Justice was much perturbed about the report of the killing of a large number of poor farmers. Accordingly, he called the Deputy Advocate General Nitish Adhikery in his chamber last evening and wanted to know from him about the incident.

The Division Bench also ordered that Ranjan Roy, a senior advocate of the Calcutta High Court, should be included in the CBI team as the court’s appointed observer, who would directly report to the Chief Justice after the inquiry.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who made a statement in the Assembly today on the Nandigram incident, which was virtually a repetition of the CPM party secretary’s statement issued yesterday, said he was agreeable to the high court’s decision. But he was considering if a judicial inquiry could be instituted.

The Governor, in his statement released from Raj Bhavan last evening, reacted “with dismay to the deaths of such large number of poor farmers in the police firing”, adding that “the incident filled him with a sense of cold horror”.

He said he could not remain a silent spectator.

Presumably not satisfied with the Chief Minister’s explanation on the police firing, Gandhi today visited Tamluk Sadar Hospital and talked to several injured, mostly poor village women, to know from them more about the incident.

The Governor faced demonstrations and road blockade from the CPM cadres on way to Tamluk through the NH 6 and his cavalcade had to be diverted to another route.

Gandhi wanted to visit Nandigram but he was forced to return to Raj Bhavan.