Cong files FIR against former Bengal minister over July 21, 1993 police firing

Kolkata, July 26 (IANS) The West Bengal unit of Congress has registered an FIR against Manish Gupta, a former West Bengal minister in the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime and also a former bureaucrat in the Left Front regime in the state, over the infamous police firing in which 13 youth Congress workers died during a protest rally on July 21, 1993.

Late Jyoti Basu was the Chief Minister of the state in 1993, and Gupta was the state Home Secretary when the police firing happened.

Post-retirement, he joined Trinamool Congress before the 2011 Assembly elections, which marked the end of the 34-year Left Front regime in West Bengal and the beginning of the 15-year Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime in the state.

Gupta successfully contested as a Trinamool Congress candidate in 2011, defeating the erstwhile Chief Minister and the CPI(M)’s sitting MLA from Jadavpur Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and became the Power Minister in the new Mamata Banerjee-led cabinet.

Later, he also became a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member.

After Trinamool Congress’ landslide defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections earlier this year, Gupta announced his decision to quit Trinamool Congress and also his permanent hiatus from political life.

Earlier this month, the current Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, tabled the report of the Justice Susanta Chatterjee (Retired) Commission, which was constituted by the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government to probe the July 21, 1993 police firing.

After tabling the report, CM Adhikari informed the House that the police firing on July 21, 1993 took place following the instruction of Gupta as the then Home Secretary.

CM Adhikari also said that the report of the Commission was not deliberately made public during the 15-year Trinamool Congress regime since the former Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, chose to shield Gupta.

CM Adhikari, at the same time, gave a call that if anyone wanted to register any complaint over the July 21, 1993 police firing, the new government led by him would start a reinvestigation in the matter.

Now the firing incident has been taken up by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) by registering an FIR against Gupta.

On behalf of the West Bengal Unit of Congress, the FIR was registered at the Hare Street Police Station under Central Division of the Kolkata Police by the Chairperson of Congress’ July 21 Committees, Amitava Chakraborty.

“We hope that an impartial and legal investigation will be conducted. Soon, administrative or other police officers involved in the incident, including Manish Gupta, will be brought to justice, Chakraborty said after registering the FIR.

The state Congress president in West Bengal, Suvankar Sarkar, said that his party leadership wants the martyrs of the July 21, 1993 police firing to get justice. “The promise made by CM Adhikari after the release of the July 21 Commission report should be implemented in reality,” Sarkar added.

–IANS

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