Rights panel fixes blame on excise commissioner

Soon after the tragedy,the WBHRC had sought a report from the state Chief Secretary. After the Chief Secretary submitted his report in April,the commission summoned a number of senior officials of the district including,the district magistrate,superintendent of police and senior excise official.

“During their deposition,the senior officials accepted the lapses on the part of the excise department. We also spoke to excise commissioner Deb Kumar Chakraborty,who admitted to nexus between the excise officials and the hooch dealers. We also collected several evidence on the issue,” said a senior official of the WBHRC.

“We further noticed that the excise commissioner did not take any action against the senior excise officials who were involved in the nexus. The officer in charge of the local excise department was suspended for three months,however,he was given a prize posting later. The officer was posted at Alipore Sadar section,” he added.

Considering the enormity of the incident,the WBHRC decided to recommend to the state government for starting disciplinary action against the IAS official,added the WBHRC official.

Significantly,this is the first such instance in which the WBHRC has asked the government to fix responsibility on a senior IAS official and start departmental proceedings against him.