Civil society group to visit Bengal to ascertain human rights violations

'Lawyers for Justice' has petitioned the President of India seeking invocation of Articles 355 & 356 and imposition of President's Rule in the State

New Delhi, Dec 15: Acting on the reports of continued violence and rising cases of human rights violations in West Bengal, a civil society group has formed a fact-finding committee, comprising retired judge and IPS officer as well as noted practising lawyers, which will take a tour through state next month to ascertain the facts and get a first-hand accounts from the victims.

In a statement, the civil society group 'Lawyers for Justice' has said that West Bengal has become a centre of violence and political goons are burning the State. Law enforcement agencies are not doing enough to win the confidence of the common man. Lawyers for Justice is an organisation constituted with an objective of protecting the rights of the citizens, especially women, the poor and people belonging to the weaker sections of the society.

The group said that it has been receiving a number of complaints from the victims of such atrocities occurring in West Bengal for quite some time now and hence resolved to visit the State to ascertain the facts and reasons leading to such violence as well as raise its voice against the State-sponsored violence and the pathetic economic situation there.

The Lawyers for Justice still continues to receive several written complaints alleging rape, murder, loot, arson, forced exodus, etc. stated to be perpetrated by the ruling party with the help of government machinery, according to the statement.

The group has submitted a memorandum by way of a petition to the President of India recently seeking to invoke Articles 355 and/or 356 of the Constitution in West Bengal. It also met the Union Home Minister to apprise him of the complete breakdown of law and order in the State and to demand imposition of President's Rule there.

Lawyers for Justice has now decided to get facts ascertained by several physical visits to the State by independent and experienced members of the civil society who come from various fields of life and society. The panel formed for the purpose includes Justice (retd.) L. Narsimha Reddy, former IPS officer Rajpal Singh, leading rights lawyers Dr. Charu Wali Khanna, Om Prakash Vyas and Rosy Taba and senior journalist Sanjeev Nayak, among others.

It will be for the first time that the State would be visited by such an independent, high-level civil society committee with the sole objective of meeting and interacting with the victims of the brutal crimes and working towards their protection as well as making their voice heard by the entire country, the statement added.