Calcutta High Court on Friday handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) the probe into the alleged murder of BJP worker Bijay Krishna Bhuniya in East Midnapore last year.

Asking the NIA to take over the probe within 15 days, Justice Jay Sengupta said it was "unfortunate" that even after repeated appeals by the central government panel lawyers, the Union home ministry did not take enough initiative to take over the investigation.

The judge also said the NIA would have to submit a compliance report to the court by April 24.

Additional solicitor general Ashok Chakrabarty denied that the court had criticised the Union home ministry. He said: "There were some procedural lacunae on the part of state government and that was why the NIA could not interfere in the matter. After hearing me, the court issued an NIA probe order. Nothing else had happened."

Bhuniya, a 60-year-old BJP booth president at Moina in East Midnapore, had been abducted from near his residence and allegedly murdered by Trinamul Congress workers in May last year. His body was found next to a pond not far from his residence the following day. According to Bhuniya’s family, Trinamul supporters had hurled bombs and taken him away.

Lawyers representing the BJP and the central government had sought an NIA probe into the incident. The Bhuniya family moved the high court, demanding a CBI probe.

Lawyers representing BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who hails from East Midnapore, alleged in the court that Bhuniya’s body had not been handed over to the family and demanded a second autopsy which the family had also asked for.

The Bhuniyas wanted the second autopsy to be conducted at a central government hospital since they did not trust those run by the Bengal government. The first post-mortem had been carried out at the state-run Tamluk hospital.

Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the high court had ordered the state government to bring the body to Command Hospital in Calcutta, where a medical team would conduct the second autopsy and the entire procedure would be videographed. Justice Mantha also told the state to complete the investigation as soon as possible and allow the family to see the body.

Justice Mantha directed the state to add a bunch of “specific allegations” to the FIR against the accused persons. The FIR was lodged suo motu by police.

Appearing for the state, then advocate-general Soumendra Nath Mookherjee said the victim had died from a gunshot injury.

The jurisdictions of high court judges changed later and Justice Sengupta wasentrusted with the responsibility of disposing of thematter.

When the matter came up for hearing again on Friday, the petitioners’ lawyers alleged that the state policehad not completed theinvestigation on time and helped an arrested personsecure bail.

Justice Sengupta then ordered the transfer of the probe from the police to the NIA.