Mitali Palnitkar
Published on: March 23, 2022 at 17:08 IST
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta High Court Alleging that attempts were made on the Life of Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee during Air Travels on more than one occasion.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj had taken up the matter. The Plea was filed by Biplab Kumar Chowdhury.
The Plea alleged that a Conspiracy was being hatched for several years to Assassinate Banerjee and Destabilize the State.
The Plea stated, “The repeated attempts made on her life cannot be ignored or taken casually and requires an immediate Investigation by a Specialized Agency constituted by the Court.”
The State and the Central Governments sought time from the Court to take instructions. The Court allowed the same and the Matter was Adjourned for April 25, 2022.
The Plea pointed three instances to emphasize on the Claims raised in the Petition. The first instance was on March 4, 2022; when Banerjee was travelling from Lucknow to Kolkata.
During the flight, another plane came head on, which forced the Pilot to take a nosedive. Though the tragedy was averted, Banerjee got Injured.
Another incident took place on March 2, 2022; while Banerjee was travelling via four-wheeler to board a plane. The Plea alleged that while her Convoy was on the runway, a Helicopter nearly crashed into her vehicle. It was claimed that the intervention by the Air Traffic Control Authority saved her.
An attempt was made in 2016 as well while she was travelling via Indigo flight from Patna to Kolkata. The Plea alleged that although the Petitioner complained about the same to the Officer-in-charge of the Airport Police Station, no Formal Investigation took place.
Therefore, the Petitioner sought the Appointment of an Independent and Specialized Agency to Investigate the incidents.
Also Read: Supreme Court: Mere Apprehension of Threat to Life not sufficient to Transfer Case