No impartial probe possible in SFI leader's death: CPI(M)

NEW DELHI: CPI(M) on Friday said it was clear that no impartial inquiry can be conducted into the death of SFI leader Sudipto Gupta due to the attitude of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government.

"The attitude of the Chief Minister and the West Bengal government makes it clear that there can be no impartial investigation into the custodial death of Sudipto Gupta," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said here.

It is imperative that a judicial inquiry be held and the investigation conducted "independently", he said.

Karat's comments came a day after Banerjee stoked controversy by saying that the death was a "small and petty matter. It was an accident, there was no police atrocity".

The CPI(M) General Secretary said Gupta's death "highlights the state of affairs in West Bengal where democratic and peaceful protests are brutally suppressed and the Left Front is under constant attack".

Both CPI(M) and the Congress have criticised Banerjee for jumping to conclusions. "The police said when investigation is on don't jump to any conclusion, but she has reached a conclusion," CPI(M) leader and Leader of Opposition in the state Surjya Kanta Mishra had said yesterday.

WBPCC president Pradip Bhattacharya had said, "The police said the investigation is on. Doesn't she know it?...If a conclusion is already reached, what is the importance of investigations?"