The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Trinamool Congress leader S K Supiyan, the election agent of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram during last year’s assembly elections. He is a murder accused in the post-poll violence that ensued soon after the party came to power in the state.
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Abhay S Oka, however, imposed several conditions while granting the relief to Supiyan in a murder case.
The top court on February 4 had reserved its order when the CBI had said that Supiyan has been running away from the investigation in the murder case of a BJP worker being probed by it.
The CBI is probing the death of BJP worker Debabrata Maity, who was allegedly attacked in Nandigram. The high court had directed the agency to investigate post-poll violence cases in the state.
On February 4, a bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Abhay S. Oka reserved the judgment after hearing arguments on the plea moved by Supiyan against the Calcutta High Court order, which refused to entertain his bail plea. Last month, the top court had granted him interim protection from arrest in the matter.
The CBI, in its affidavit opposing the pre-arrest bail plea of Supiyan in connection with the alleged murder of a BJP supporter after poll results were declared, said he hatched a criminal conspiracy to teach a lesson to Hindus, who voted for BJP resulting in loss of the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Nandigram Assembly constituency.
The agency claimed that Supian allegedly carried out violent attacks on local villagers, causing the death of one Debabrata Maity.
“As per the records of the investigations conducted so far all of this was done by the petitioner to send a political message that any political opposition would be punished with death, grievous injuries and with extreme mental trauma. It is submitted that the aforesaid acts of commission constitute heinous offences against the society and destroys the very fabric of the body polity of the state,” the affidavit said.
Mamata Banerjee, who had contested from Nandigram, lost the election to her former aide-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Suvendu Adhikari.
The Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI probe into various incidents of killings and sexual assault, which occurred in the state after election results were declared.