NHRC rejects allegation of leak of report on post-poll violence in West Bengal

The NHRC Thursday rejected as "baseless and factually incorrect" allegations that a report prepared by its committee probing the incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal has been leaked by the rights panel. The National Human Rights Commission said in a statement that the panel had submitted its report to the Calcutta High Court on July 13.

"The NHRC refutes allegations in a section of the media, regarding the leak of the report, relating to the post-poll violence in West Bengal," the statement said.

Since the report is already available with all the concerned parties as per the directives of the court, "there is no question of leakage at the level of the NHRC," the rights panel said.


The attribution regarding the alleged leak of the report to the NHRC is absolutely "baseless and factually incorrect," the statement said.

The NHRC has already shared the copy of the report with the "advocates of the concerned parties in this matter in accordance with the directions of the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court", it added.

The Commission had constituted the committee to inquire into the post-poll violence in the state as per the directions of the Calcutta High Court.

"On further directions of the court, the committee provided a copy of it, to its advocate in Calcutta, who shared with the advocates of all the concerned parties in the related multiple writ petitions," the statement said.

"The matter being sub judice, the committee of the NHRC did not share its report to any entity other than those specified by the hon'ble court," it added.

The committee, in the report placed before the Calcutta High Court, has recommended a CBI investigation into "grievous offences like murder and rape" and suggested that these cases be tried outside the state.

The report, however, drew the wrath of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who said the panel was pursuing "political vendetta" on behalf of the BJP by "leaking" its findings to the media.