WARRANTS BEING ISSUED AGAINST STUDENT LEADERS FOR PROTESTS, CRIMINALS ROAM FREE
WARRANTS BEING ISSUED AGAINST STUDENT LEADERS FOR PROTESTS, CRIMINALS ROAM FREE

In yet another example of weird administration of this government, warrants have been issued against SFI leadership for leading rallies and mass meetings. Warrants were issued against SFI General Secretary Ritabrata Banerjee (Member of Parliament), SFI WB State Secretary Debajyoti Das, SFI WB State President Madhuja Senroy and SFI North 24 Parganas District Secretariat member Saptarshi Deb for organizing the public meeting at College Square on 2nd April 2014 commemorating one year of martyrdom of State Committee member Sudipto Gupta, who was lynched to death in police custody, and demanding a judicial inquiry into it. A rally from College Square to Dharmatala was organized after the meeting to commemorate the murder of Sudipto Gupta.

Following the murder of SFI Baruipur Gram Zonal Committee member Saifuddin Mollah on 19th January while returning from an electoral public meeting of Dr. Suryakanta Mishra, SFI and DYFI State Committee had organized a protest rally in Kolkata on 20th. Yet again warrants were issued against SFI leadership Ritabrata Banerjee, Debajyoti Das and Madhuja Senroy along with DYFI State President Sayandeep Mitra (also former SFI State Secretary and President), and DYFI Central Executive member Rajib Majumdar.

Charges under Section 143, 149 and 283 have been filed against the SFI and DYFI leadership for organizing the above rallies. It includes organizing illegal gatherings, seditious activities, and blocking roads.

SFI state leadership Ritabrata Banerjee, Debajyoti Das and Madhuja Sen Roy were also handed warrants along with AISF National Council members Partha Mukherjee, Prasenjit Das, PSU leader Mrinmoy Sengupta, AISB leader Biswajit Maity for rallying in protest of the barbaric rape and murder of college studentat Kamduni. This rally was being held in July ’13. Though the rapists and murderers are yet to be convicted even more than a year after the crime (the CM had promised a “hanging or death sentence” within a month), yet the administration has been eagerly pro-active to issue warrants against the Leftist student leaders for demanding justice of the murdered rape victim.

The state government is yet to file a suo-moto case in an inter-state scam as big as the Saradha scam, where hundreds of crores of rupees which were the last belongings of the poorest of masses have been looted, and leaders of all stairs of the ruling party have been involved. The police is yet to nab the main accused in the Park Street rape case, or is yet to convict the accused a year after the rape and murder of the college student at Kamduni, and the minor in Madhyamgram. However, this very administration shows its zeal and urge in being pro-active in filing cases and issuing warrants against student leaders for protesting against the anarchy in the state, or even against a poor farmer Shiladityo Chowdhury for asking his CM why the price of fertilizers is escalating. Such is the vengeance in the attitude of the state administration, that the criminals are being spared or ignored (the CM had previously declared that she controls goons), but any voices of the opposition are never spared.

In all the 3 instances mentioned here, the SFI took the necessary police permissions for organizing the meetings and rallies, and hence those cannot be termed as illegal gatherings. Further, only if the accused ignores court summons at least thrice and refuses to attend the hearings, then only warrants should be issued. But in all the three instances, none has been ever summoned by the court. Hence, these warrants are also illegal. It is strange that the government is so much afraid of the protests. After being granted bails from the Bankshal Court, SFI State Secretary Debojyoti Das reminded that “Road is the only Road” to teach the administration its way.