Dipaneeta Das
Rebel Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has urged West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to make public the findings of the Justice Sushanta Chatterjee Commission on the July 21, 1993 police firing at Esplanade and order a fresh investigation into the incident.
In a letter dated July 2, which she shared on social media on Friday, the former Trinamool Congress MP, now with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), described the firing as a "gross miscarriage of justice" and alleged that successive governments had failed to ensure accountability for the deaths of 13 Youth Congress workers.
"I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and public representative regarding the gross miscarriage of justice surrounding the 21 July 1993 police firing at Esplanade, Kolkata, in which 13 innocent Youth Congress workers were killed and many more injured during a peaceful democratic protest," Dastidar wrote.
Seeking a comprehensive reinvestigation, the MP called for a forensic probe into the case, including custodial interrogation of police officers, bureaucrats and political leaders allegedly involved in the firing. She also demanded that the findings of the Justice Sushanta Chatterjee Commission be made public and that criminal proceedings be initiated against those found responsible.
Dastidar accused the former Trinamool Congress government of failing to fulfil its promise of delivering justice after coming to power in 2011.
"Despite coming to power in 2011 on the promise of justice for the 21 July martyrs, the Trinamool Congress government has failed to prosecute the ministers, bureaucrats and police officers responsible," she stated.
The MP also questioned the political rise of former Home Secretary Manish Gupta, alleging that instead of facing legal action, he was rewarded with ministerial and parliamentary positions.
"Manish Gupta, the then Home Secretary, was never arrested or prosecuted. On the contrary, he was elevated by the Mamata Banerjee government as a Cabinet Minister and later made a Rajya Sabha MP. This promotion of a key functionary from the Jyoti Basu era raises serious questions of collusion and protection of the guilty," the letter said.
She further alleged that crucial records linked to the case had disappeared from Lalbazar and the Writers' Buildings, hampering the pursuit of justice.
"Critical files related to the 21 July firing went missing from police headquarters (Lalbazar) and the state secretariat (Writers' Buildings), as noted by the Commission. No serious effort was made to recover or reconstruct them," Dastidar claimed.
In her appeal to the Chief Minister, Dastidar sought publication of the Commission's report, a time-bound forensic reinvestigation—if required with international assistance—criminal action against those responsible, and implementation of recommendations relating to compensation and rehabilitation of the victims' families.
She concluded with a sharp political charge, warning that failure to act would reinforce allegations of political protection.
"If justice is denied, it will only strengthen the perception that the Trinamool Congress government has colluded to shield former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and Left Front leadership responsible for the 21 July atrocity, betraying the very martyrs whose memory it claims to honour," she wrote.
The state government has not yet publicly responded to the allegations or the demands made in Dastidar's letter.
