West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari tabled the long-pending report of the Justice Sushanta Chattopadhyay Commission in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, the eve of the 33 anniversary of the 21 July, 1993 firing.
Adhikari described the findings of the report as a significant step towards uncovering the truth behind one of the state’s most contentious political episodes.
Presenting the report before the Speaker, the chief minister said the commission had concluded that the police firing on Youth Congress demonstrators could not be justified and that the deaths resulting from the firing had not been established as legally warranted.
According to Adhikari, the report states that the firing was carried out on the instructions of the then Home Secretary, Manish Gupta. He further claimed that the commission found no convincing evidence to justify the use of lethal force and observed that the firing had taken place without adequate provocation and on the basis of perceived rather than imminent threats.
The Chief Minister also released the list of witnesses examined by the commission. He pointed out that while 44 individuals had been summoned, former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who had led the Youth Congress march on 21 July 1993 and has long projected herself as the principal witness to the incident, was not examined by the commission.
Adhikari targeted Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, alleging that the memory of the 21 July martyrs had been exploited for political and personal gain while the role of former Home Secretary Manish Gupta was deliberately concealed.
“Many people have benefited by using 21 July. Some secured political positions, others enjoyed the privileges of power. Some travelled on chartered flights, underwent treatment at Johns Hopkins in the United States, or acquired extensive properties on Harish Chatterjee Street and Harish Mukherjee Street. Yet the people of West Bengal still do not know what really happened on 21 July, why the police opened fire, or who ordered the firing,” he said.
Adhikari questioned why she had not been called and suggested that the omission required an explanation.
The 21 July incident occurred during a Youth Congress march to Writers’ Buildings demanding the introduction of voter identity cards. Police opened fire on demonstrators during clashes, leaving 13 Youth Congress workers dead. The incident subsequently became a defining political symbol for the Trinamool Congress.
After assuming office in 2011, the then Trinamool Congress government constituted a commission of inquiry headed by retired Justice Sushanta Chattopadhyay to investigate the firing. Although the commission submitted its findings years ago, the report had never been made public until Monday.
Reading from the report, Adhikari said the commission questioned the adequacy of the original investigation and observed that several relevant records were unavailable. He claimed the report noted that it could not conclusively determine who had ultimately authorised the police firing and raised questions over the absence of key documents from Writers’ Buildings.
The Chief Minister also alleged that despite being named in connection with the 1993 incident, Manish Gupta was later inducted into the Trinamool Congress ministry, implying that political considerations had delayed publication of the report.
Adhikari announced that the state government would facilitate fresh legal action if families of those killed or injured wished to lodge new First Information Reports against any of the individuals named in the commission’s findings.
He also assured the Assembly that requests for additional financial assistance to affected families would be examined sympathetically. The tabling of the report triggered sharp political reactions inside the House.
Trinamool (Ritabrata faction) MLA Madan Mitra welcomed the publication of the findings and thanked the Chief Minister for bringing what he described as a “buried issue” back into public discussion. He urged the government to issue a White Paper on the matter and invite citizens possessing relevant information to come forward.
Mitra maintained that placing the commission’s findings before the legislature was intended to ensure transparency and allow the public to examine the conclusions reached by the inquiry.