In a new twist in the Netai massacre case, the West Bengal government virtually admitted before the Calcutta high court on Friday that the five accused in the case had probably fled from the state. State advocate-general Balai Roy told the high court that an effort was underway by the CID to trace them out by tracking their cellphone.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice J.N. Patel and Justice Asim Kumar Roy had wanted to know from the state on the status of the CID inquiry. “The division bench wanted to know whether anyone has been arrested in connection with the case since January 19. Advocate-general Balai Roy replied in the negative. The high court then asked him whether the state government had published their photographs in newspapers declaring them as absconders,” said Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, the vice-president of the Calcutta high court bar club who had filed the petition.
Mr Roy said that the high court like it had done during the last hearing on January 19, once again made it clear to the state that it had kept the option of a CBI probe open. When the advocate- general said that the state government was hopeful that the CID would make a breakthrough, the court said it wanted concrete results. The petitioner voiced his extreme unhappiness over the slow progress of the CID probe and termed it as a farce.
Earlier the government filed three affidavits at the high court in the case. One of them was filed by state home secretary G.D. Gautama stating that no existence of armed camps was found by the joint forces in the Jangalmahal. Another was filed by assistant home secretary Samir Kumar Giri explaining the appointment of a retired forensic official Ardhendu Sengupta. The third, on the progress in the CID inquiry, was filed by Mr Kanojia in a sealed cover. The case will come up for hearing on February 15.