A team of officers from the CID’s Special Investigation Team will reach Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar on Monday to probe into the April 10 firing by CISF personnel, which had killed four voters during the fourth phase of elections in Bengal.
The team, headed by a senior officer of the rank of deputy inspector general of police from the CID, would be talking to a section of residents of the Jorapatki village in Sitalkuchi including some eyewitnesses and find out what had exactly happened that had prompted the CISF personnel outside a both to open fire.
The visit follows that of Bengal’s governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who had visited Cooch Behar when the dust was settling on Sitalkuchi.
Soon after the incident the CISF had alleged that a group of villagers had attacked them outside booth number 126/5 in Jorpatki in Sitalkuchi assembly constituency on the polling day forcing them to open fire. The SIT has sent out two notices to six CISF personnel asking them to appear for a round of questioning about the firing but the central agency has not responded.
Preliminary post mortem report has suggested that the bullets were fired by CISF from a medium range and all the four victims had sustained bullet injuries on their upper body.
Chief minister, while setting up a SIT to probe into the incident, had termed it as a had termed as “genocide.”
Senior officers of the SIT said they would find out what had exactly happened that CIF had to open fire and not resort to conventional means of handling a law and order situation on a polling day. The team members would be speaking to some of the police personnel of Mathabhanga police station to find out if they were around and whether there was any communication between the state police and the CISF before the central force jawans opened fire.
“We have found several leads after questioning the investigating officer of the case and the inspector in charge of Mahthabhanga police station. These leads would be corroborated during the course of our field visit,” said a senior officer of the CID. “All statements including those of the family members of the deceased would be recorded.”
Immediately after taking oath as Bengal's chief minister Mamata has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to each of the family members and a government for next to one of the family members of the deceased.