Calcutta High Court asks CBI to probe Nandigram firing

Taking cognizance of the situation at Nandigram in West Bengal, Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the CBI to immediately send a team to the troubled area and inquire into the circumstances that led to the police firing which claimed 11 lives.

A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice P C Ghosh passed the order on a petition by the National Alliance of People's Movement and some lawyers.

The court in its order directed a CBI team to immediately visit Nandigram and collect all evidence of firing by the security forces, which resulted in deaths of so many people.

It directed the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to file an affidavit detailing the circumstances under which the firing was ordered.

The court also directed that under no circumstances any evidence should be destroyed by any person and instructed the CBI to collect all evidence including the post-mortem conducted on the victims of the firing.

CBI advocate Ranjan Roy would also accompany the team in its visit to Nandigram.

The High Court directed that medical and NGO teams, likely to visit Nadigram with relief materials, should be allowed to enter the area by the administration there.

The administration was asked to hand over bodies of those killed in Nandigram on Wednesday to their relatives immediately for performing the last rites.

The next hearing of the case is likely on Monday next.

The court's directive came after the National Alliance for People's Movement and some lawyers filed the petition, drawing attention of the court to the firing by police on the villagers at Nandigram on Wednesday.

A mob of nearly 5,000 villagers fought a pitched battle with the security personnel on Wednesday morning leading to police firing in which 14 of them were killed and more than 75, including a number of policemen, were injured.

The villagers, apprehending that their land would be acquired by the adminsitration for setting up of a special economic zone, were resisting the security forces from entering different villages of Nandigram Block in East Midnapore district.

The villagers had kept a number of villages out of bound for security forces for nearly three months since it was indicated by the adminstration that the SEZ may be set up over an area of around 10,000 acres in Nandigram block.