NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought a reply from the CBI on a plea for cancelling bail granted to two accused by the Calcutta High Court in a case of brutal killing a BJP worker during the 2021 West Bengal post-poll violence.
A bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma issued a notice to the CBI returnable within four weeks.
The court acted on on a petition filed by Biswajit Sarkar, brother of slain Bengal BJP worker Abhijit Sarkar.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the petitioner, submitted the High Court had on August 5 granted bail to the two accused only on the ground that there was a delay in the trial.
He also submitted that the transfer petition filed by the CBI, in which the proceedings were stayed, has already been withdrawn on Friday before a separate bench.
The counsel contended the brother of the petitioner was killed by the mob in which the respondents were also present.
"Heard senior Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the petitioner. He submits that the Transfer Petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in which the proceedings were stayed, has already been withdrawn today by the CBI and the trial has also commenced. According to him, the brother of the petitioner(s) was killed by the mob in which the respondent nos. 2 and 3 were also present, and killed his brother in front of his mother by entering into their house," the bench said in its order.
The petitioner, who claimed to be eye-witness to the killing on May 2, 2021 at North Kolkata, alleged that the mob dragged him out of his house, tied the CCTV camera wire around his neck, and smashed his head and brutally killed him in front of his mother.
In February, 2023, a Sealdah court, had framed charges against 20 accused in the murder case.
Ten of the accused were then in the custody of the CBI, which probed the case, while 10 others were on the run.