SALEM KHAN Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The subject matter of the writ petition is the unfortunate death of one Anis Khan on the night of February 19, 2022. The writ petitioner is the father of the deceased Anis Khan. He has prayed that the investigation into the death of his son should be transferred from the State Investigation Agency to an independent third party outside the control of the State Government.

(2.) The factual background is that the deceased Anis Khan was a student of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kalyani University. He was also an alumnus of Aliah University. He was a public-spirited person involved in various social causes, and participated in rallies and protest movements against the activities of the State Government. He was involved in the protests against the Hijab Ban and National Register of Citizens-Citizenship Amendment Act (NRC-CAA) issues. He was also involved in organizing blood donation camps that were shut down by the members of the ruling party.

(3.) It also appears from a complaint annexed with the writ petition, that in August 2017 the victim was tied up, insulted, mocked, and assaulted by the local Pradhan and his associates. The Pradhan was a member of the ruling political party who was allegedly enraged by the petitioner objecting and frustrating the attempts of the latter to extort hefty sums of donations from students seeking admission to a certain school named Ananda Niketan Vidyamandir. The said incident has been recorded in FIR being Bagnan P.S. Case No. 433 of 2017 dtd. 3/8/2017.