SRI SUSANTA GHOSH Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner seeking anticipatory bail is a member of the legislative assembly elected from the east Garbeta assembly constituency. He has continuously been representing the people of the aforesaid constituency commencing from the year 1985. He was a minister for a very long time. He as a matter of fact was the Minister-in-Charge of Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs during the period between 2006 and 2011. He is an FIR named accused in the case.

(2.) The accusation is that on 22nd September 2002 in the morning around 9 A.M. the victim Ajay Acharya, accompanied by some members of the Trinamul Congress who had earlier been uprooted from their respective residence by the miscreants of CPI(M), called at his house in the village Rainak within the jurisdiction of Keshpur Police Station. His companions included Ram Sani, Tarun Ghosh, Dil Mohammad, Raju Singh, Sk. Allauddin, Sk. Taju and many others. At that time the FIR named 40 accused persons belonging to CPI(M) Party armed with rifles, guns, pistols, bombs and sharp weapons raided the house of the said Ajay Acharya. He and his companions were surrounded, assaulted and finally taken away to the house of Gobinda Mazhi in the Piarsala village where seven of them including Ajay Acharya were brutally killed. A complaint was lodged after intervention of the Superintendent of Police on 26.9.2002. The Officer-in-Charge of the local police station initially had refused to accept the same. The victims including the said Ajay Acharya are untraceable since then. On 4th June 2011 in the afternoon the police discovered some skeletons at Mallickdanga within the jurisdiction of Garbeta PS from near a pond known as Daserbandh. Shyamal Acharya, son of the said Ajay Acharya, on 6th June 2011 lodged the complainant alleging further that he could identify the skeleton on the basis of dhuti, ganjee, underwear and the teeth of his father. Thus Anandapur PS Case No. 36 of 2011 dated 6th June 2011 was started against those forty persons including the Petitioner.

(3.) The complaint dated 26th September 2002, a copy whereof is annexure B to this petition, lodged by the sister of the defacto complainant, was the basis of Keshpur PS Case No. 61 of 2002 dated 26th September 2002 under Sections 148/149/448/307/326/364/506 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25/27 of the Arms Act against 19 persons named therein and others. Those who took the lead role have also been indicated in the complaint. It is alleged therein that the said Ajay Acharya and his companions were shot at in the house of the said Ajay Acharya whereupon the said Ajoy Acharya struggling for life begged for water when the accused persons dragged the victims including Ajay and took them away towards the village Piarsala. Since then the said Ajay Acharya was untraceable. The nineteen accused persons named in the said written complaint did not include the Petitioner. The accused were ultimately tried and acquitted.