BJP to move HC over twin deaths

PURULIA: The BJP is likely to move the

Calcutta High Court

, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged killing of two party workers last week in Purulia during the panchayat board formation process. A team of lawyers went to Purulia and spoke to the victims’ families on Sunday.


“We shall soon move the court and demand a CBI probe into the incident, in which two party workers — Damodar Mandal and Niranjan Gope — died. Our lawyers have started collating documents,” said Sayantan Basu, BJP

general

secretary in Bengal.

State BJP leaders Rahul Sinha and Mukul Roy visited Purulia on Sunday along with the lawyers. “Police had opened fire on the villagers who had gathered there during the panchayat board formation. Two villagers were killed, but the police denied firing at them,” Roy said. “We shall demand an impartial probe under the Calcutta High Court,” he said. Sinha said the board formation was over in most of the panchayats in the state, excluding Purulia.

Last week, the district magistrate seized the winner’s certificate issued to the BJP candidate Adip Mandal, alleging that he was a voter of

Jharkhand

.

Soon a clash followed the dispute, in which the two BJP workers were killed.

“Board formation in 41-gram panchayats are kept on hold and a democratic process was stalled. But BJP will not be intimidated by such tact,” Sinha said. The party will conduct a rally on September 6 in Kolkata to protest the deaths.