NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Dec.4 issued notice to the Punjab Government seeking its reply to the allegations of “illegal” Punjab police raids in West Bengal as part of its antiterrorist Operations.

The notice sent through Punjab Chief Secretary is returnable on Jan.14. A division bench comprising Justice S.C.Aggarwal and Justice N.Venkatachala issued the notice. In his PIL petitioner advocate B.L.Wadeehra accused the Punjab police of “murdering in cold blood” an alleged militant couple in Tiljala (Calcutta) on May 17 this year.

The West Bengal government had earlier in an affidavit before the Supreme Court taken strong exception to antiterrorist operations launched by Punjab police in West Bengal from time to time without informing the local police.

West Bengal Chief Secretary N.Krishnamurthi had shot off angry letter to his Punjab counterpart a day after the Tiljala incident. He recounted at least two more similar incidents.

Pranab Kumar Das Gupta, West Bengal’s Joint Secretary, Department of Home (Political), has annexed Krishnamurthi’s letter along with his affidavit before the Supreme Court. Das Gupta, in his affidavit dated October 9, informed the court that the Punjab Government had neither replied to the Chief Secretary’s letter nor denied the incident.

Chief Secretary Kriishnamurthi had categorically stated that his State government had taken “serious note of this unseemly incident.”

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 17, 1993