New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- BJP Panihati MLA Ratna Debnath, the mother of Abhaya, on Saturday demanded that former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also held the Home and Health portfolios, and former Health secretary NS Nigam be brought under trial to uncover the "murder mystery" surrounding her daughter's death.
She alleged that the two were involved in attempts to destroy evidence and said all those who shielded the accused would face action under the BJP government.
Speaking at a seminar on whether people were losing faith in the judiciary, organised by the All Bengal Lawyers Association, Debnath said the BJP government had suspended three IPS officers within 100 days for allegedly shielding the criminals. "Now it is time for Mamata and Nigam to face trial, then only Abhaya will get justice," she said. Debnath said her daughter's case was also being delayed but expressed hope that justice would eventually prevail.
Justice (retd) Samapti Chatterjee, who heads a commission on atrocities against women, urged people to trust the judiciary, saying justice could not be delivered through "kangaroo courts". Abhaya's father Sekhar Debnath urged the police to act neutrally. Educationist Samita Bhowmick, police officer Santi Das, BJP MLA Dipanjan Chakraborty and advocates Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee and Mukul Biswas also spoke.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.