Trinamool leader's hate speech: Calcutta HC questions police inaction

The Calcutta High Court Thursday directed the West Bengal DGP to personally appear before it Friday and explain police inaction against a Trinamool Congress leader for a hate speech.

Hearing a petition in connection with the murder of an independent panchayat member last year, Justice Dipankar Dutta also took judicial notice of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sharing the dais at a public rally with Birbhum district Trinamool president Anubrata Mandal -- the accused number one in the case.

"The court today (Thursday) expressed its disappointment over Mandal not being arrested despite clear video footage of him making a hate speech where he is asking his party workers to bomb the police," petitioner counsel Tapas Ghosh said.

"Besides directing the DGP to personally appear before the court (Friday) and explain the inaction against Mandal, the court also took judicial notice of Mandal (Wednesday) sharing dais with the chief minister at a rally (in Mangalkote in Burdwan district)," added Ghosh.

The court had also rapped the Banerjee government earlier after seeing videos of Mandal inciting party workers to resort to violence against independent candidates and hurl bombs at the police if they prevented them from doing so.

Days after Mandal's hate speech Sagar Ghosh, a Trinamool leader who had become a rebel, was shot July 21 last year and succumbed to his injuries two days later.

Expressing displeasure at the shoddy investigation by the CID in the matter, Justice Dutta directed the constitution of a special investigation team to probe the murder case.