Calcutta HC orders fresh trial into green activist's murder

Kolkata: The Calcutta high court has ordered a fresh trial into the murder of Trinamul worker Tapan Dutta in Howrah on Monday after setting aside the lower court’s acquittal of five accused in the case. Dutta was a green activist who was shot dead following his protest over the illegal fill-up of a pond in Bally on May 6 night in 2011.

His widow Pratima Dutta claimed Trinamul MLA Arup Roy was involved in her husband’s murder. The criminal investigation department (CID) took over the case and chargesheeted 13 accused.

It however dropped the name of eight including Mr Roy among them in its supplementary chargesheet.

Five others— Shashthi Gayen, his brother Amit, Kartick Das, Subhas Bhowmik and Ramesh Mahato were acquitted by the trial court in Howrah for lack of evidence in 2014. Expressing her lack of faith in the CID probe Ms Dutta moved to high court demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into her husband’s murder.  She also challenged the acquittal of the five accused before the high court. Meanwhile the five acquitted also appealed for the upholding of the trial court’s verdict.

During the hearing in the matter a division bench of Justice Debasish Kar Gupta and Justice Mohammed Mumtaz Khan found that Ms Dutta’s statement was not recorded properly.

The bench quashed the trial court’s acquittal of the five accused and directed for a fresh trial which would include Ms Dutta’s account as a witness. Elated over the high court’s order Ms Dutta said, “The lower court’s order was set aside by the high court which also directed for a fresh trial and collection of information afresh.” “It was also ordered that the information which was not provided earlier has to be taken into account,” she added.