The CBI has sent yet another letter to the Bengal Government seeking its permission to interrogate and prosecute six senior police officers for their alleged roles in the Nandigram police firing case in March 2007. The ruling Trinamool Congress which had cashed in on the Nandigram firing that created an anti-left wave in the State catapulting Mamata Banerjee, had not yet given the CBI the sanction to prosecute the six police officials reportedly responsible for the firing that killed eight people.
The incident had taken place on March 14 when the police opened fire on villagers. In the skirmish that followed, 14 people died of bullet injuries. Subsequent probes confirmed eight deaths by police bullets and six by what they called "bullets fired by anti-social elements." According to CBI sources, the agency had till date written three letters to the Trinamool Government seeking its permission to prosecute the erring police officers but in vain.
The CBI had investigated the case following a High Court order. The agency had named about 169 people in two chargesheets and sought permission from the Government to prosecute police officers including an IG, SP and an Additional SP. Curiously not only the Government did not give any permission but also it promoted some of these officers. An executive magistrate who allegedly issued the firing orders was also given plum posting as the private secretary of a Cabinet Minister.
On the possible reasons behind the State's refusal to give sanction to prosecute the police officers, CBI sources said highly placed authorities had made the Government's giving permission to interrogate the police officers conditional to agency's registering a case against the then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
But giving reasons for not interrogating Bhattacharjee who was also in charge of the Home Affairs, the CBI sources said that the agency found no evidence of his involvement in the firing incident. Incidentally, the twin movements of Nandigram and Singur --2006-2007 onwards --had pitch-forked Mamata Banerjee to power in 2011. While in Singur the issue was forcible acquisition of 1,000 acres of land for Tata Motor's small car plant, in Nandigram it was the proposed acquisition of about 10,000 acres of land for a projected SEZ and a chemical hub none of which could become a reality.