Kolkata: IPS officer Damayanti Sen has expressed her inability to investigate the murder of an independent panchayat member in Birbhum district, in which some Trinamool Congress leaders are accused, citing health reason.
In a letter, which the West Bengal government placed before Justice Dipankar Dutta, DIG (CID), Sen said that she would not be able to handle the investigation owing to health-related issues.
Justice Dutta had expressed his desire to ask Sen, who is at present DIG (CID) of West Bengal Police, to investigate the case.
Justice Dutta had earlier entrusted Sen, who had solved the sensational Park Street gangrape case, with the probe of the alleged murder of a gangrape victim at Madhyamgram in North 24-Parganas district last October, accepting the proposal by the government.
Justice Dutta had earlier expressed displeasure at the shoddy investigation by the state CID in the murder of Sagar Ghosh at Parui in Birbhum district.
Government Pleader Asok Banerjee today handed over the letter of Sen to the court.
Justice Dutta then said that he would take a decision on who would handle the case tomorrow.
The high court had on December 23 ordered the CID to investigate murder charges against Birbhum district Trinamool Congress president Anubrata Mondal and 40 others, accused in the killing of Ghosh after the panchayat polls.
He was shot on July 21 last year at his home and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital two days later.
Ghosh had won a seat in the panchayat polls as an independent after being denied a ticket by the Trinamool Congress.
In response to a writ petition filed by Ghosh's relatives Nepal Roy and others, the high court had ordered the CID to probe the case treating the complaint lodged by Ghosh's daughter-in-law Shibani on July 23 as FIR.