KOLKATA: A complaint has been lodged with the Bongaon Police in West Bengal seeking registration of an FIR against former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging her role as a conspirator in the 2012 murder of anti-rape crusader and schoolteacher Barun Biswas.
Nandadulal Das, a co-crusader of Barun Biswas in Sutia and a schoolteacher, on Tuesday wrote to Bongaon Police Superintendent Bidisha Kalita, urging her to treat his complaint as an FIR against Mamata Banerjee.
Das alleged that Banerjee and former state minister Jyotipriya Mallick were key conspirators in the murder. He also alleged that no proper investigation has been conducted so far to uncover the truth behind the killing.
Earlier this month, Barun's elder brother Asit Biswas and sister Pramila Roy met Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at his Janata Darbar and sought a fresh investigation into the case, urging him to reopen the probe into the alleged role of former minister Jyotipriya Mallick.
Following Suvendu Adhikari's intervention, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police started an inquiry into the case. The CID has already visited Barun Biswas' residence in Gobardanga. The case is scheduled to be heard in a Bongaon court on August 31.
Barun Biswas, 39, a Bengali literature teacher at Mitra Institution in Kolkata and a social activist, was shot dead from behind near Gobardanga railway station on July 5, 2012. He had emerged as the face of a citizens' movement against organised crime, particularly sexual violence, in Sutia.
Das also alleged that he had faced harassment for several years for demanding justice in the case and accused the then state government of failing to conduct a proper investigation. He further alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government tried to blame the CPI(M) for the crime to protect the main accused.
Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Sutia area allegedly witnessed a series of gang rapes and murders carried out by a criminal gang led by Sushanta Choudhury. Barun co-founded the Sutia Gonodhorshon Pratibad Mancha (Sutia Anti-Gang Rape Protest Forum) to mobilise residents against the perpetrators.
Asit Biswas alleged, "Not only Bengal, but people across India know that the mastermind was the then food minister Jyotipriya Mallick. Under his leadership, at least 100 to 150 people were involved in Barun's murder."
Pramila Roy said Suvendu Adhikari assured the family that their plea would be considered. "We have waited for 14 years. Let us see what happens now. We are ready to cooperate fully with the probe," she said.
Nine persons were arrested in connection with the murder. One of them died in jail, while the others are out on bail. The trial has been pending for over a decade, and the family alleged that public prosecutors were repeatedly changed during the Trinamool Congress government.