Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, concerned over the clash at Calcutta High Court between factions of lawyers, and over “continual deteriorating law and order in the State”, has now summoned chief minister Mamata Banerjee to Raj Bhavan.

The governor today met the state’s chief secretary and DGP of West Bengal Police, who submitted to him a report on the law and order situation and the incidents of crime against women. Mr Dhankhar today wrote to the chief minister, asking her to meet him at Raj Bhavan to discuss deteriorating law and order in the state as one after other criminal incidents in the state is coming to light.

The governor, in his letter to Mamata Banerjee, wrote, “Deeply concerned at extremely disturbing and unprecedented worrisome scenario unfolding today in the hallowed precincts of High Court at Calcutta as also the recent spate of heinous crime against women and continual deteriorating law and order in the state. “You would agree that in a system governed by constitution and rule of law, denial of access to justice and obstruction in the functioning of the courts sounds the death knell of democracy. In view of this alarming situation, kindly make it convenient for interaction at the earliest during the course of the day.”

A clash ensued on Tuesday between two factions of lawyers in Calcutta High Court allegedly over the decision to boycott Justice Abhijit Ganguly’s courtroom. Two lawyers were admitted to SSKM hospital with injuries. The lawyers affiliated with TMC objected to Justice Abhijit Ganguly’s decision to question the division bench where the orders by the single bench, relating to the SSC recruitment case were running into a wall. The agitation continued today. CPM state secretary Md Salim alleged that TMC planted goons in the garb of lawyers inside the court.

About five CBI investigations have been ordered against the state government in the last two weeks. The latest is the alleged gang rape and murder of a minor at Hanskhali. The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed senior IPS officer Damayanti Sen to oversee the investigation into four recent cases of rape that were reported in West Bengal. Sen was the acting intelligence chief of the Kolkata Police, who investigated the Park Street gang-rape incident in 2012.