Calcutta HC questions police over BJP workers' deaths

The Calcutta High Court on Monday sharply questioned the police investigation into the alleged murders of two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Khejuri, East Midnapore, after call records suggested suspicious communication between the investigating officer (IO) and the doctor who conducted the first post-mortem.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

The division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi was hearing petitions filed by the families of the deceased, Sudhir Chandra Paik (65) and Sujit Das (23). The two were found dead on July 12, shortly after attending a Muharram cultural programme in Janka, Khejuri.

While organisers claimed the deaths were caused by electrocution, the families alleged foul play linked to communal tensions.

The controversy intensified after the initial postmortem at Medinipur Medical College attributed the deaths to electrocution, but a second autopsy at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata, ordered by the High Court, detected ante-mortem injuries on Das's body. The contradictory findings raised doubts over the police handling of the case.