WB govt appoints 10 IPS officers to assist SIT probe into post-poll violence

Kolkata, Sep 02: The West Bengal government has appointed 10 IPS officers to assist a special investigating team (SIT) formed by the Calcutta High Court to probe cases of post-poll violence in the state, a senior official said on Thursday.

The officers have been deployed for north, west and south zones of the state as well as for the Kolkata Police areas, he said.

"The services of the IPS officers are hereby spared, in addition to their normal duties, to assist the SIT constituted by the Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta," an order issued by the home department stated.

"The services of other officers, as may be required, may be taken in consultation with DG and IGP, West Bengal," it added.

A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court had on August 19 ordered the constitution of the SIT comprising IPS officers Soumen Mitra, Suman Bala Sahoo and Ranbir Kumar to look into the incidents of violence after the assembly elections.

The West Bengal government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order directing the court-monitored CBI investigation into heinous cases like rape and murder during the post poll violence, after accepting the recommendations of an NHRC panel.