Calcutta HC orders post-mortem of BJYM worker at Command Hospital

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered that the post-mortem of BJYM worker Arjun Chowrasia, who was found dead in north Kolkata, be conducted at the Command Hospital here, following a verbal prayer on behalf of his mother.

Chowrasia was found hanging at an abandoned railway quarter in Kashipur, leading to angry protests by BJP workers and the subsequent visit by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

A division bench presided by Justice Prakash Shrivastava directed that the post-mortem of Chowrasia be conducted at the Command Hospital here.

The bench directed that the chief medical officer of the Command Hospital in Alipore will form a team of doctors for the post-mortem.

The bench, also comprising Justice R Bharadwaj, directed that the Chief Judicial Magistrate of South 24 Parganas district will be present during the post-mortem and that the whole process be videographed.

It further directed the Commissioner of Kolkata Police to ensure that the body is safely taken to the Command Hospital, meant for treating defence personnel, from the state-run RG Kar Hospital in the northern part of the city.

The bench also directed the police commissioner to ensure the security of Chowrasia’s family. It said that the matter will be taken up for hearing again on Tuesday.

BJP leader and lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal moved the court on behalf of Chowrasia’s mother, claiming that the unnatural death was connected to the violence in the state, following the 2021 assembly elections.

All cases of murder, rapes and attempts to rape in post-poll violence incidents are being probed by the CBI on an order of a five-judge bench of the high court, she mentioned.

Claiming that the mother of the deceased does not have faith in the state police in holding a fair investigation, Tibrewal verbally prayed that the investigation be done by the central agency as in other cases of post-poll violence.

Tibrewal claimed that Chowrasia was one of the many BJP workers who had to leave their residences due to post-poll violence and had recently returned.