Office bearers of state and national commissions for the protection of child rights indulged in a blame game on Sunday and accused each other of playing politics over the death of a minor girl in North Dinajpur.
The verbal volleys between the two panels also prompted Trinamul and BJP leaders to trade charges.
Trinamul's Kunal Ghosh alleged that the BJP was trying to exaggerate the incident to reap political dividends, while the BJP's state chief Sukanta Majumdar blamed the state government for attempts to “conceal” facts.
On Sunday morning, Priyank Kanungo, the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) reached the village of North Dinajpur where the 17-year-old girl was found dead on Friday.
Accompanied by some members of the panel, Kanungo met the girl’s family members who have been alleging for the past couple of days that she was raped and killed, contrary to the state police's statement that "poisonous substances" were found in her body during post-mortem.
As violence had sparked in the village in the past two days, the administration had clamped prohibitory orders there under section 144 of CrPC from Sunday. Police were posted in the village.
Then, Kanungo reached the Circuit House in Raiganj.
“I have recorded statements of the (girl's) family. I will speak with the doctor who conducted the autopsy and the investigating officer and I have asked them to come here. The girl’s family members said that the police have not yet recorded their statements. It is disappointing,” Kanungo said.
On Saturday, a WBCPCR team also met the girl’s family in the village. “Doing politics with the dead bodies of children in West Bengal by the keepers of child rights! Shameful NCPCR,” read the state panel's tweet later.
Kanungo, at the Circuit House, commented sharply on that panel's tweet.
“I don’t want to comment on any incompetent body working on behest of an incompetent government to protect the image of an incompetent CM,” Kanungo told newspersons.
“We are ready to extend all cooperation to them (the national panel),” Roy added.
Kanungo in the evening spoke with newspersons, where he again fumed at the state government and the state commission.
He will leave for Delhi on Monday, said sources.
Arun Haldar, the vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, reached the village on Sunday.
“I couldn’t find the DM and the SP here. They should be here during the commission’s visit. Even the investigating officer is not present. They will be asked to appear before the commission within three days.... If they stay away, they may be arrested and presented before the commission,” said Haldar.
Squabbles between central and state commissions, largely seen as shadowboxing between the BJP and Trinamul, triggered leaders of both parties.
“The behaviour of police and administration towards the NCPCR team hints that they are trying to conceal facts and trying to prove that the girl has committed suicide....,” said state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar.
Kunal Ghosh, the state general secretary of Trinamul, said: "Officer bearers of these central panels are blatantly acting at the BJP's behest."
TMC feud over road
Cooch Behar: Four Trinamul supporters got injured and another five were detained by the police as two local factions of the party clashed in Cooch Behar on Sunday over the construction of a rural road.
Senior police officers visited the spot. Police were deployed in the area.
The row started at Gondiyapara, a village in Mekhliganj subdivision at 11.30am on Sunday over work for a rural road under the Pathashree scheme and escalated into a fight with bricks, sticks and iron rods.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
