Written by: Express News Service
3 min readKolkataMay 7, 2013 05:27 AM IST
First published on: May 7, 2013 at 05:27 AM IST
THE state government has rejected recommendations of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) for compensation to Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra,arrested last year for circulating an email with cartoons of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,saying there has been no violation of human rights.
Mahapatra,a chemistry professor,and his neighbour,Subrata Sen Gupta ,were arrested by the East Jadavpur police station on April 13,2012. Both had spent a night in police lock-up and were produced in court.
The WBHRC received the reply from the government today — nine months after it had sent its recommendation and sought reply within six weeks.
“The state government has rejected the recommendation that Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra and his neighbour Subrata Sengupta be given compensation of Rs 50,000 each and action be taken against police officers who arrested them,” said WBHRC joint secretary Sujay Kumar Halder.
After arresting Mahapatra and Sengupta,police had slapped Section 509 (word,gesture or act intended to insult modesty of women) and Section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the IPC,which they eventually dropped.
Significantly,the WBHRC took suo motu cognizance of the matter and started an investigation.
On August 13,the WBHRC,led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ashok Ganguly,in its recommendation,termed the incident “an instance of human rights violation” and suggested the government to pay Rs 50,000 to both Mahapatra and Sengupta as compensation and initiate disciplinary action against the police officers concerned. The WBHRC asked the state government to reply in six weeks .
The government,in its letter to the rights commission,states that Mahapatra and Sengupta were not in police custody but were taken to the police station for their “safety and security” as there were chances of their being manhandled by the locals.
The letter also states that they were given time to lodge complaint against the miscreants who had manhandled them though they did not lodge any report. They were also asked to apply for bail,which they did not do,reads the letter from state home secretary Basudeb Banerjee. The letter further states that the government has ruled out any action against the police officers as they are not guilty for violating human rights.
The full bench of the rights commission today sent an observation to the state government,stating it did not agree with the reasons cited by the government to cancel the recommendations. It has also asked the government to reconsider its decision.
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