CID probe ordered

The Telegraph

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, March 20: The government today ordered a CID probe into Wednesday’s police firing at Nandigram in which 14 people were killed. State home secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said the CID probe would go on simultaneously with the executive inquiry to be conducted by the commissioner of Burdwan division, Balbir Ram. “So far as we understand, the CBI is inquiring into the Nandigram incident but it is yet to start a probe. The CID team that has been sent to Nandigram will probe the police firing. If the CBI later takes up the probe, we will hand over our findings to them. But as of now, the CID will inquire into it,” Ray said. He ruled out a judicial probe into the firing. “The executive probe will begin on Monday and Ram will submit the report to the government within 45 days. So, we are not thinking of any judicial probe at the moment.” Ray dismissed reports that the state secretariat did not know that the police had opened fire on that fateful day. “We came to know about the firing around 12 noon on Wednesday and necessary instructions were given to the district administration,” he said. According to him, preliminary reports sent to Writers’ Buildings suggested that an additional superintendent of police and an executive magistrate had ordered the firing when the mob attacked policemen while they were entering the villages. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today held an hour-long meeting with director general of police A.B.Vohra at Writers’ Buildings to discuss the Nandigram issue. He is learnt to have asked Vohra about the provocation behind the firing. Ray said he had discussed with advocate general Balai Ray the affidavit to be filed before the high court on the firing. “We have sent the necessary papers to the advocate general so that the affidavit is filed in a day or two,” he said after a meeting with inspector general of police (western range) Arun Gupta.