Kolkata, May 13 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear in July a petition seeking an independent probe into the killings of three BJP workers in West Bengal following the 2018 panchayat elections, while noting the "substantial change" in the state's political landscape since the plea was first filed.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi was hearing the matter moved by senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia on behalf of the brother of one of the deceased workers.
During the hearing, the bench questioned what remained to be adjudicated in the case, prompting Bhatia to point to the changed political situation in the state after the BJP came to power in West Bengal earlier this month. The court remarked that there had been a "sea change" in circumstances and advised the petitioner to take proactive steps to ensure progress in the matter.
The petition relates to the deaths of BJP workers Shaktipada Sarkar, Trilochan Mahato and Dulal Kumar in 2018, incidents that had triggered political controversy in the state at the time. The plea alleged that the killings were politically motivated and sought a CBI investigation into the cases.
According to the petition, several other incidents of political violence had also taken place during that period, with closure reports allegedly filed in multiple cases. It further claimed that relatives of the victims had received threats.
The Supreme Court had earlier, in 2018, agreed to examine the plea seeking a central probe into the deaths.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.