The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear in July a plea seeking a probe into the alleged killing of three BJP workers in West Bengal following the 2018 local body elections in the state.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi was hearing the matter filed in 2018 by senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, who was also appearing for the brother of one of the deceased workers.
“What remains in this matter now?” the bench asked Bhatia during the hearing.
Bhatia referred to the changed political circumstances in West Bengal.
“Substantial change or sea change,” the bench observed.
Suvendu Adhikari took oath as West Bengal’s first BJP chief minister on May 9 after the BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule in the state.
During the proceedings, Bhatia requested the court to list the plea in July to enable him to seek further instructions.
“You should take a proactive step in ensuring that things move in the right direction,” the bench observed while posting the matter for hearing in July.
Earlier, on February 17, the apex court had asked the petitioner why the Calcutta High Court had not been approached over the grievance.
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Bhatia had argued that three “ghastly murders” in West Bengal were brought before the Supreme Court and claimed that 19 politically linked killings had taken place in the state during that period.
He also submitted that family members of one of the deceased were allegedly receiving death threats from influential persons.
According to the petitioner, five closure reports had been filed in connection with the 19 cases.
In August 2018, the Supreme Court agreed to examine the plea seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged killing of three BJP workers after the local body elections in West Bengal.
The plea also alleged that family members of the slain workers, Shaktipada Sarkar, Trilochan Mahato and Dulal Kumar, were being threatened.
Shaktipada Sarkar, a BJP block president from the Mandirbazar-Dhanurhat area, was hacked to death in South 24 Parganas district in July 2018 while returning home.
The body of Dulal Kumar, a BJP worker, was found hanging from an electric pole in Purulia district’s Balarampur area in June 2018.
In May 2018, the body of 18-year-old Trilochan Mahato, another BJP worker from Balarampur, was found hanging from a tree in Purulia district.
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