Tripura CM’s statement on reopening political murder cases triggers a row

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Amid criticism from the Congress on the relevance of reopening closed political murder cases in Tripura, Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha on Monday reiterated his position on the matter. He said reopening murder cases is possible as there have been numerous instances of it in the past.

After chairing a law and order review meeting at the police headquarters here, Dr. Saha said, “This is not an impossible task. Reopening closed murder cases is very much possible and there have been instances of it.”

Responding to the Chief Minister’s statement, Congress leader and former Minister Sudip Roy Barman questioned reopening of murder cases that were shut down or made no progress during the previous governments led by the CPI(M) and Congress in the State. The Chief Minister had stated that he sought to ensure justice and redress for the victims and their families.

Dismissing this idea, Mr. Barman argued, “How can murder cases that have already seen acquittal of the accused through proper trial proceedings be reopened? It’s a foolish idea.”

Senior High Court advocate Subrata Sarkar said that reopening such cases was possible through an appeal, but the appellant must provide a valid reason for the delay for the appeal to be accepted.

A few years ago, the BJP-led coalition government had formed a committee to examine “hundreds” of politically connected murder cases that were closed during the previous governments. However, the committee failed to make any progress.