Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Md. Salim said on Tuesday that the Trinammool Congress Government in West Bengal is trying to say through the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) “investigation report” that no one killed Anish Khan.
Mr. Salim said that from the very start, the Trinamool Congress Government, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was trying to reach the conclusion that Anish Khan was not killed and this investigation was just an attempt to divert attention. The CPI(M) State secretary told The Hindu that in the case of Anish Khan, as in several other incidents over the past ten years where “higher ups or Trinamool Congress goons are involved, the investigation is not to find out the culprits but to brush the issue under carpet”.
Report ridiculous, says lawyer
The remarks by the CPI(M) leader come at a time when evidence is out in the public domain that the SIT of the West Bengal government has indicated that death of the 28-year-old student leader may be “non-homicidal”. Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who is representing family of the Anish Khan, had on Monday expressed objections to the SIT investigation before the Calcutta High Court. “It is also submitted that the circumstances under which the death of the victim is considered non-homicidal is extremely suspicious and ridiculous and there are other objections also raised,” the order of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Monday said, referring to points raised by Mr. Bhattacharya.
The Senior Advocate also submitted before that court that “firstly, the report can at best be described as enquiry report and is not an investigation report”. The Calcutta High Court had directed “formal exception be taken on affidavit” by Mr. Bhattacharya on the matter. It will come up for hearing on May 12.
“Fight will continue”
The CPI(M) State secretary said that along with fighting the case legally, the party would also hit the streets, and the campaign “Justice for Anish Khan” would continue till those involved in the crime were brought to book.
Anish Khan, a popular student leader who was associated with the Students Federation of India (SFI), died at his residence in Amta in West Bengal’s Howrah in the early hours of February 19. His father Salem Khan said that four people in police uniform barged inside the house at about 1 a.m. and threw Anish from the second floor of the house.
Following the protests , Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a three-member SIT headed by Additional Director General of Police, CID, Gyanwant Singh. The family had approached the Court demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. CPI(M) and its student and youth wing had launched sustained protests demanding Justice for Anish Khan.
