SC seeks Centre, EC, Bengal's response on SIT probe into post-poll riot in Bengal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sent notices to the Centre, the West Bengal government, and the Election Commission seeking its explanation on a plea that sought an SIT probe into the causes of violence after the Assembly Elections in West Bengal.

The bench led by Justice Vineet Saran issued notices while considering a plea filed by advocate Hari Shankar Jain.

The Bench issued a notice to the Centre and the West Bengal government after addressing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the Supreme Court's intervention to put an end to post-poll violence. The PIL filed in May also sought to order an SIT probe into the alleged crime.

The West Bengal government told the top court that allegations are "false and misleading". The TMC government said that all incidents of violence cannot be categorised as post-poll violence. The statement added that calling all the allegations state-sponsored violence is "frivolous and politically motivated".

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has submitted a report to Calcutta High Court regarding the displacement of people due to the violence, said the Live Law report. NHRC Chairperson Justice (retd) Arun Mishra had constituted a committee headed by former IB chief Rajiv Jain on June 21.

The NHRC team allegedly faced heckling and threats of violence in Jadavpur. The vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Atif Rasheed said that they were chased by a mob. Police personnel assigned to protect them did not help.

The High Court had last week dismissed a petition by the government of West Bengal to recall the order in which a five-judge bench had directed the HRC to form a committee to examine human rights violations during post-poll violence.