High Court order to publish enquiry report on minister murder

From A Correspondent

Agartala, January 12 : The High Court has directed Tripura government to table the report of the Commission of Enquiry headed by Justice M Yusuf to enquire over the circumstance leading to the killing of the then health minister Bimal Sinha in 1998 by a group of NLFT militants. The division bench comprised Chief Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Subhasish Talapatra ordered to table the report before the state assembly within six weeks.

The report of the Yusuf commission has become one of the biggest suspense in Tripura as the state government, despite repeated demand from the opposition, refused to submit the report before the state assembly since it was submitted on 31st January, 2000. Sinha was murdered on March 31, 1998 within few months of the formation of the fourth Left Front government headed by Mr Manik Sarkar.

The court order came following a PIL filed by the state president of the Mahila Congress Kalyani Roy. The state government initially opposed the submission of the report on the ground that the case relating to the killing is still pending before the Supreme Court.

Sinha was murdered when he went to the bank of the Dhalai River at Abhanga in Kamalpur along with his brother Bidyut Sinha to talk to the NLFT militants reportedly to discuss about the release of his another brother kidpped by the militants. He did not allow his security staff to accompany him. The killing spread a shock wave in the state. At the same time it also was alleged that Mr Sinha was the victim of his long association with the militants.

Police had filed case against some militants and some of the local Congress workers for hatching a conspiracy. Out of 21 accused 14 were produced before the court and all of them were acquitted as police failed to place sufficient evidence ad the High Court also upheld it. The state government has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking review of the order.