CID submits hooch case chargesheet

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal police submitted its report of the terrible hooch tragedy in Bengal in December 2011 which took the lives of 171 people on Saturday. The tragedy happened on December 13 and 14 at Sangrampur under Magrahaat police station. CID named 12 persons in one case and 11 persons in another case.

In the charge sheets placed at the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate of Diamond Harbour Ms Mou Chatterjee, CID named 23 persons in two cases including the prime suspect Noor Islam Seihk alias Khora Badsah and his wife Nurjahan Bibi.

The ill-fated poor labours, rickshaw-pullers, petty hawkers or masons lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor supplied through number of vendors by Noor Islam. CID has till now nabbed 15 persons in the regard including the Islam. Islam was originally a CPI(M) activist, but sensing the change of political guards at the state, he switched over to Trinamool before last parliament election. He played a vital role for TMC during last Assembly election in South 24 parganas district.

The investigation, which has ben completed in a record 60 days is a victory of sorts for the CID which has been criticised in the past for not being able to solve critical cases like the Tapasi Malik murder case and Nandigram cases. Not only politicians, but even the High Court Bar Association had sought the High Court’s directive to reassign the cases to the CBI. On the face of such criticism, this comes as a huge victory for the state detective body.