West Bengal govt orders judicial probe into Dinhata police firing

Kolkata, Feb 10 : West Bengal government today ordered a judicial inquiry into the February 5 police firing at Dinhata in Cooch Behar District in which five Forward Bloc activists were killed.

However, the name of the judge is yet to be announced, government sources said.

Opposition parties and ruling Left Front allies, including the Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) were demanding a judicial probe into the incident.

Earlier, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the firing.

On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had sent notice to the State government and the State police, asking their replies on police firing at Dinhata.

On February 5, five Forward Bloc activists were killed and 50 others were injured when police opened fire on party supporters, who turned violent during an agitation programme at Dinhata. The activists were protesting against Special Economic Zones and big capital's entry into retail.

ANI