On Thursday, the High Court of Calcutta heard the case of Post Poll violence case in West Bengal.
Additional Solicitor General YJ Dastur submitted the post mortem report of the deceased BJP worker Avijit Sarkar which was conducted at Command Hospital after his brother claimed the body couldn’t be identified as maggots & ants had fed on it.
DVD of the autopsy of the deceased BJP member Abhijit Sarkar was submitted to Court on a sealed cover.
Although all parts of the NHRC report were given to other plaintiffs, including the state, the part that contained details of rape incidents & allegations wasn't given to anyone.
The NHRC's statement said the details of rape victims were confidential & therefore not given. The commission said it will follow the Court's directive.
NHRC's lawyer alleged in Court, "Many of those who complained before the NHRC are still being intimidated by police & ruling party activists".
"Victims were threatened by the police to withdraw the complaints. How can we depend on the State to give justice to rape victims?" the lawyer argued.
The state has asked for extra time to reply stating that the report is 3500-page long. The court expressed reluctance to give time over this argument.
"Is it your job to investigate the allegations, or to respond to the NHRC's report?" Justice Subrata Talukder questioned.
Mahesh Jethmalani said that "Situations like the Gujarat riots need to be investigated immediately with an impartial body. Why would they investigate the police who are threatening the victims?"
"There are multiple inconsistencies in the report, including references to pre-poll events. This is not desirable for a neutral body like the NHRC. It is a politically motivated report," Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended on behalf of the state.
The HC said that anyone wishing to file an affidavit, including the state, must do so by July 26, with the next hearing on July 28.
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