Rashtrapati Bhavan asks Bengal government to take up harassment charges by lawyer

Rashtrapati Bhavan has notified the West Bengal government, urging an investigation into the complaint lodged by Advocate Pratap Chandra Dey, the husband of Justice Amrita Sinha, from the Calcutta High Court.

The Calcutta High Court judge’s husband has claimed that he was tortured by the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during interrogation in connection with a property dispute case. However, the criminal probe agency denied these claims, saying those were "concocted and baseless statements".

In a letter addressed to the state Chief Secretary, the President's Secretariat instructed to inform the petitioner about the actions taken in response to his complaint.

Advocate Pratap Chandra Dey filed a complaint on December 19 with the President of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor of Bengal CV Ananda Bose, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging torture by the Bengal crime investigation department.

It may be noted that Justice Sinha is presiding over the West Bengal teachers' recruitment scam wherein Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee was summoned for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate.

In the complaint, Pratap Chandra Dey alleged that he was being subjected to harassment by the Bengal CID under the guise of interrogation in the property dispute case. He also alleged that instead of questioning him about the case in which he was summoned as a witness, the CID officials were rather trying to scoop information about his wife, Justice Sinha.

In his complaint to the Bengal government, Dey wrote, "I was treated like a criminal, accused of some heinous crime. I was questioned by more than one officer and questions were asked only about my wife and about her details. The officers told me that they were not interested in the case details, but wanted answers in respect of my wife. The video was switched on and off as per their desire and convenience. The torture and harassment went on for three-and-half hours.”

Pratap Chandra Dey was summoned multiple times by the CID as part of the probe into the case registered in Kolkata's Salt Lake. Subsequently, he claimed that the CID had subjected him to mental torture, labelling him as a witness and coercing him into deposing false statements against his wife.

In light of these charges made by Dey, the letter from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the Chief Secretary sought an investigation into the matter and direct communication with the petitioner regarding the actions taken.