Plea with HC seeks judicial probe over Gaibandha Santal eviction

The High Court has been moved for a judicial probe into the 'attack' on Santals in Gaibandha during a drive to evict them from disputed land.

A petition was filed on Sunday by the spouses of two Santal men who had been injured in the Nov 6 incident.

The plea seeks the court’s instructions to the secretaries to the home and law ministries regarding the launch of a judicial inquiry and submitting its findings to the court.

Three tribesmen died on Nov 6 when police opened fire to stop clashes between the workers of Rangpur Sugar Mill, which acquired the land in 1962 to farm sugarcane, and the Santals.

Santal homes were also ransacked and looted during the clashes.

The Gaibandha administration was served with a legal notice by the petitioners on Nov 15, asking what measures had been taken against those responsible for the drive.

The petition has been filed as the authorities did not respond to the notice, said the petitioners' counsel Jyotirmoy Barua.

It also sought a rule on why those involved in the process will not face criminal procedures.

Barua told the media that 12 persons, including four secretaries, the local MP had been made parties in the plea.